


A Requiem For Home

by Subl1m1nal



Series: Thicker Than Water [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:13:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26052466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subl1m1nal/pseuds/Subl1m1nal
Summary: A home is a place of belonging. Whether it's with friends, family, or just a lonesome sanctuary.But there was nowhere they belonged. That's why they're here in this facility. But this lab was not a home, that was a certainty.That doesn't mean a home didn't exist outside of its plain white walls.After all, anywhere is home with the right people.
Series: Thicker Than Water [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990858
Comments: 229
Kudos: 926





	1. Chapter 1

Tommy tapped his cheek beneath his fingers in a repetitive pattern, frowning at the green mush of vegetables on his plate as he flattened them further with his plastic fork.  
  
"You shouldn't play with your food," a voice across from him pointed out. Tommy looked up, meeting his friend's warm brown eyes, which were partially covered by his darker brown hair. He groaned in annoyance and dropped the fork, looking over to Tubbo's plate.   
  
"Can I have that?" Tommy asked, pointing at the boy's chocolate chip cookie. Tubbo followed his finger, then met Tommy's eyes with a frown.  
  
"No. You already got your own; this one's mine." Tommy sighed and dropped his head on the table with a loud thud. A few moments later, he heard a shuffling over the chatter in the cafeteria and then felt a tap on his head. Tommy reluctantly lifted his head after the tapping got more persistent, and was met with half of a cookie shoved in his face.  
  
"Thanks, Tubbo," he said with a small grin. The other returned the smile and bit into his half, looking at Tommy expectantly. Tommy took a bite, at least this stupid lab had decent food.  
  
"So..." Tubbo trailed off, watching Tommy's eyebrows furrow in confusion.  
  
"So?"  
  
"What's wrong?" Tubbo asked. "You're obviously in a bad mood." Tommy grunted in agreement, taking another bite of the treat.   
  
"I've already been in this place for two and a half weeks, Tubbo. We have no clue what we're doing here, what's going on, and when we get out," Tommy explained, throwing his hands up exaggeratedly.   
  
"Maybe we were arrested," Tubbo suggested, causing Tommy to glare at him- not that he noticed.   
  
"Oh, really? What did you do to get arrested, because I was a great kid." Tubbo brushed the crumbs off his hands and shrugged, then tapped his chin in thought.  
  
"I cursed in front of my teacher."  
  
"Tubbo, you're so stupid. You won't get arrested for that," Tommy groaned, running a hand through his messy hair and yanking at a few tangles.   
  
"Oh," Tubbo muttered.  
  
"I have a plan," Tommy hummed, looking over to the guards. "A plan to break out."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"See that guard-."  
  
"Yeah! That's Mr. Jerry; he's really nice! Earlier, he was showing me photos of his kids: Alice, Adam, and Anthony!" Tubbo chirped, looking back to Tommy as a slap caught his attention. Tommy sat there with a hand on his face.   
  
"Tubbo, don't befriend the enemy!" Tommy huffed.  
  
"Sorry," Tubbo apologized despite not really caring. It made Tommy feel better, so there was no point not to. Tommy's eyes shifted from Tubbo to a slight left. Tubbo tilted his head curiously and peeked over, following his eyes. "Oh! 'Ello Clay."  
  
"Hey, Toby. Hey, Tommy." Unlike Tubbo, who Tommy knew outside of this prison, he met Clay a couple of weeks ago. The boy had dirty blond hair, messy and unkempt, but it somehow worked for him. His eyes were a sharp, toxic green, and he had freckle-scattered tan skin and a wide, loose grin.   
  
"Oh great, it's Clay," Tommy huffed as Tubbo scooched over for the male, who patted his head in response and sat down.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, shut up, child. I'm here to chat with Toby," Clay claimed, rolling his eyes, but his smile remained, taunting Tommy. Toby was Tubbo's real name. Tommy liked Tubbo more; it was a nickname he had given him when they were younger. It had more of a ring to it than boring, old Toby.  
  
"Well? What about?" Tommy asked, watching Clay's grin fall slightly.   
  
"It's more of a private chat-."  
  
"Anything you say to my friend, you can say to me," Tommy huffed, looking to Tubbo for reassurance. Tubbo looked to Clay, then to Tommy with a sympathetic look.  
  
"Tommy-," Tubbo started, but Tommy threw his hands up in defeat and picked up his tray.   
  
"No- no. It's fine," Tommy grumbled, looking over to the door. "Guess it's early room time for good ol' Tommy, huh?" He muttered as he walked to throw his trash away.  
  
"He's not in a good mood today," Tommy faintly heard Tubbo explain to Clay as he walked away.  
  
Tommy approached a guard standing next to a door and waved to get his attention. The man shifted his gun to the side, looking at the boy with a small smile. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"I want to go back to my room," he muttered, fiddling with his hands as the man nodded.   
  
"Code?"  
  
"4-19," he recited. Everyone in the facility had a number on the back of their boring, white jumper. His was four. They meant something, Tommy didn't know what, but they meant something. He was told his number on the day of arrival, and if he wanted food or access to locations, they had to know his number.   
  
"Follow me," the guard hummed, waving at another to signal his departure. Tommy followed wordlessly behind the man, frowning deeply. Under other circumstances, Tommy wouldn't mind being here. He's got his own room, and the guards are kind. He's got protection, they give good food, his best friend's here, so he should like it here. It's better than the orphanage. Instead, however, he feels trapped.  
  
He wanted out. He looked up when the footsteps stopped, finding himself in front of his room. Another downside to this place was that it was a maze. He's walked these halls countless times, but every time he feels more lost than the last, so he gave up trying to memorize the route.   
  
"Thanks," Tommy sighed as the guard swiped his key card and opened the door for him. He didn't bother to wait for a reply as he pushed past the guard and collapsed on his bed. The door lightly closed behind him, and a small click echoed in the room to indicate that it was locked.   
  
Tommy laid there for a while- who knows how long, staring up at the roof and planning. He came to a realization earlier that his plan of holding the guard hostage and demanding their release wasn't going to work. Specifically, because he only had plastic spoons- and he didn't feel comfortable after Tubbo mentioned the man's family.   
  
He let out a small sigh of frustration at the lack of ideas and rolled over on his bed. It was a plain white bed, which matched his plain white walls and floors, and the plain white hallways. This place needed more color. The bed was against the back left corner of the room, across from it was a small door to a restroom. In the front left corner, there was a dresser, brown and small, that held a few identical copies of his jumper. The only other thing in the room was the door, sat in the upper middle of the room, metal and locked.  
  
Tommy felt his eyes begin to droop and let himself drift as he stared at the white wall. At least it was quiet- it was never quiet in the orphanage. The only noise was a muffled, never-ending wail coming from the hall that he'd never heard before and a small click. It was faint, though, and he was too tired to comprehend or be concerned with what it was, so he closed his eyes and basked in the silence.  
  
The peace didn't last. Tommy immediately shot up as a loud crash echoed in the room, and multiple somethings smacked against his form. He looked around, blinking slowly as he tried to comprehend what was happening. The loud, ear-piercing wails that were once a lullaby made it harder to understand what was happening.  
  
"What?" Tommy asked, catching the attention of the man who stood in the rubble, the rubble that used to be his south wall. The older boy looked over to Tommy, who now stood in alarm, and shook out his hand.   
  
"Who're you?"  
  
"What?" Tommy asked, more alert this time. Tommy shook the stray pieces of wall from his hair and peered past the stranger to look into the room he came from. It looked older than Tommy's and had multiple differences. It didn't have a dresser, for starters, and the bed looked more like a cot. His door also looked to have a small metal opening, and the door itself looked different than his. He focused back on the brunet in front of him, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You broke into my room! I have priority, who are you?"  
  
"Is that how that works? I'm Techno," the man pointed to himself, his blue eyes scanning over Tommy's outfit Before Tommy could question the strange name, the boy continued. "Sorry about your wall. I didn't know anyone else was here." He glanced behind Tommy, then back to the boy.  
  
"What do you mean 'I didn't know other people-,'" Tommy began, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. After all, he's seen someone new almost every day. Techno began to walk forward, but Tommy quickly stopped him, holding his hands out in worry. "Whoa! Wait-."  
  
"I'm in a hurry," Techno muttered, huffing in exasperation. "Don't you want to get out?"  
  
"Well, duh-," Tommy replied. Who didn't?  
  
"Then come on," Techno huffed, pushing past the blond and out the now unlocked door. Tommy blinked with wide eyes, mentally shouting at himself as he ran out the door. He caught up to Techno with a huff. The man was running down the hall, but he was at a pace Tommy was able to match.  
  
Seeing the lab unusually dark was odd. The only thing lighting the halls were a few back-up lights lining the ceiling. Tommy noticed most of the doors were now unlocked and open and assumed it to be the fault of the power failure. At least, he thought it was a power failure. Not that the halls were eerie to him, but he's sure someone would think they were. Tubbo would probably be clinging onto him in absolute fear and terror. Tommy slowed, blinking in realization.  
  
"Wait- wait," Tommy complained, looking around into the empty rooms curiously. "I need to find my friend!"  
  
"There are more people here than us?" Techno asked, looking around as he slowed.   
  
"Yeah, and I gotta find my friend Tubbo!" Tommy explained, panting as he walked beside Techno. He glanced at the man's back, blinking in surprise at the large zero on his back. "Whoa."  
  
"What?" Techno asked, glancing at Tommy as they turned a corner. Tommy opened his mouth to point out the number, but a familiar voice caught his attention.  
  
"We need to find my friend, Nick," Clay explained to the short brunet, who nodded.  
  
"But first, we need to get Tommy!"   
  
Tommy grabbed Techno's sleeve of the jumper, which was long, unlike his, and rushed forward, pulling the other along. "Tubbo!"  
  
"Tubbo?" Techno asked, watching Tommy let go of his outfit and wave widely at the other.   
  
"Tommy! Look, Clay, it's Tommy!" Tubbo pointed out to Clay, who nodded but seemed to be more interested in Techno. Clay strolled forward and held out a hand to the taller brunet.   
  
"I don't believe we've met," Clay hummed, and Techno stared at his hand with a frown. "I'm Clay.”  
  
"Is this the best time?" Techno asked, watching Clay frown and drop his hand.  
  
"Oh, 'ello! I'm Toby-."  
  
"Tubbo," Tommy corrected, earning a shrug and nod from Tubbo.   
  
"Yeah, that's fine too! Who're you?"  
  
"This really isn't the best time," Techno muttered, looking around nervously. Clay slung an arm around Tubbo, smiling.   
  
"It's fine-," Clay began, but Tommy cut him off.  
  
"Tubbo, this is Techno. He broke down my wall! Can you believe that?" Tommy asked, excitement evident in his voice. Tubbo mirrored his excited expression and nodded.  
  
"That's amazing!" Tubbo agreed, grinning. Techno shifted and looked down the hallway.   
  
"Thanks, but can we escape?" Techno asked, making everyone blink in realization.   
  
"Oh, yeah! Let's go get Nick," Clay hummed as he began down a hall at a walking pace, still pulling Tubbo along. "Come on, gang." Tommy didn't allow Techno to leave and grabbed his gloved hand, dragging him as well. Clay kept walking for a while but paused and pressed against the wall, signing the others to do the same. A moment later, guards ran past, and their footsteps disappeared as quickly as they came.   
  
"How'd you do that?" Tommy asked in confusion, and Clay merely shrugged.   
  
"So, left or right?" The group heard a voice up ahead, but instead of signaling them to hide, Clay merely grinned. "Left is for losers. Right's always right. Oh, what do you think, Clay?" the black-haired boy asked, looking down the hall at the group.   
  
"You always stick to the left in a maze, Nick," Clay pointed out, slowly walking over as Nick began towards them.   
  
"Hm, maybe. But I like to break the rules," Nick hummed, looking at the group curiously. "Did you replace me already? What can two kids and a tired-looking teen give you that I can't?"  
  
"Literally anything, you are no use to me," Clay rebutted, turning to the group. "Toby-."  
  
"Tubbo," Tommy corrected. "And I'm not a kid."  
  
"You definitely are," Techno pointed out. "What about escape-? You two can reconnect after we get out."  
  
"Chill," Nick hummed, tilting his head curiously as his dark eyes gazed into Techno's blue ones. "We're fine," Clay slung an arm around Nick and blinked.   
  
"Oh." Clay quickly sidestepped out of the entrance of the hallway, leaving the boy, who was quickly advancing down the corridor, to slam right into Techno. Aside from glancing down, Techno was otherwise unresponsive. He didn't stumble at the impact, unlike the other, who fell back into Nick.   
  
"Whoa, kid. Slow down," Nick pushed the boy off, staring at him as he spun around.  
  
"Just my luck, two guards," the boy muttered, facing the general direction of Nick. Nick tilted his head curiously and spun him around, despite his protest and struggle.   
  
"Chill, chill. I'm getting this blindfold off, or do you want it on?" Nick asked, making the boy freeze. "Not guards, by the way, kid."  
  
"I'm not a kid," the other huffed, no longer struggling against the hands pulling at the knot of the fabric that covered his eyes. The boy had short brown hair, but that was the only noticeable feature, aside from the drastic difference in Nick's tan skin to his pale one.   
  
"Can you not untie a knot?" Clay asked, shoving Nick aside, and he grabbed the tie. With a simple yank, the fabric fell loose.  
  
"Fucking show off," Nick huffed, flipping Clay off.  
  
"Oh, that's not two people," the boy muttered as he rubbed his brown eyes, blinking as he adjusted to the light.  
  
“Tell me about it,” Techno nodded in agreement and stepped forward. “Want me to get those off?” he asked, gesturing to the cuffs binding the hands together. The boy reluctantly held them out, and with a small yank, the metal ripped apart and clattered to the ground. Techno returned to standing next to Tommy, kicking the scrap of metal as he walked back.  
  
"I know, there's like four people now," Nick hummed, gazing down at the smaller male as he grabbed the bandana from Clay. The boy looked ready to move away at the action but relaxed when Nick merely tied it around his head. "I'm Nick."  
  
"George," the newcomer muttered, looking around the group. "You really called me the kid?" he asked when looking over to Tommy and Tubbo.   
  
"I'm not a kid!" Tommy huffed, stomping in annoyance. George grinned in amusement, shrugging.   
  
"You look the same age as them, what are you talking about?" Nick asked.  
  
"I'm eighteen!" George huffed, earning a surprised expression from the group. "It's not that shocking!" Clay wheezed at his outburst, causing George to flush in embarrassment.  
  
"Sorry, sorry-," he said through gasps. "I just- you look twelve."  
  
"I'm leaving," George groaned, looking down the hall. Clay quickly grabbed his arm and shook his head.  
  
"No, no, I'm sorry, really! We're better in numbers anyway. I'm Clay."  
  
"’Ello, I'm Tubbo," Tubbo hummed, earning a happy nod from Tommy.   
  
"I'm Tommy," Tommy announced, then everyone's eyes turned to Techno expectantly. Techno looked around, obviously nervous.  
  
"And I'm out of here. Can we go?" Techno asked, looking to Clay, who sighed.   
  
"Yeah, just a small problem."  
  
"What?" Nick frowned.  
  
"I don't know the way out."  
  
"What?" Tubbo asked, seeming most shocked by this news. "But you-."  
  
"Didn't plan well enough, I know," Clay huffed as he looked to Techno. Techno sighed and began down the hall.  
  
"I know the way out," Techno muttered, pace speeding up as he heard the group's footsteps behind him.  
  
"You're a zero!" Tubbo pointed out as they caught up with him. "And George, you're a two!"   
  
"Oh, you guys are fours," George muttered, confusion evident in his voice. "I have no clue what that means."  
  
"Me neither," Tubbo chirped, looking to Tommy, who shook his head.  
  
"Nope," Nick shook his head. Clay, however, held a confused expression as he stared at Techno's number.   
  
"Wonder where all the guards are," Tommy murmured as they hurried down the hall.   
  
"Probably trying to control the masses of escapees," Clay suggested, earning hums of agreement.  
  
"How many people are here?" Techno asked, but all he received was a small 'I dunno,' in response. The six continued down the hallway but slowed when Tubbo skid to a stop.  
  
"What is it?" Clay asked, tilting his head as Tubbo hurried back and peered into a doorway. He shook his head and continued to another, looking in once more. Still, he didn't seem to find what he was looking for. "Toby."  
  
"Ah, sorry-," Tubbo said, looking back at the group as he hurried to the next door. "I could've sworn I heard someone."  
  
"It could've been a guard, let's keep going-," Techno explained, but stopped at as a faint call echoed down the hall.  
  
"Hello?" The group looked at each other, then to Tubbo, who hurried further down the hall towards the voice.   
  
"'Ello?" Tubbo called, finally coming to a closed, but unlocked door.   
  
"Tubbo, wait. It could be dangerous-." Tommy hurried over and opened the door before any of the others could object.  
  
"Oh, thank God. You're the first one who actually heard me- oh, there's a lot of you," the blond realized, looking at the group as they peered into the room. The older teen rose off his bed, and went to step forward to shake their hands and greet them, but stumbled. He blinked in realization and laughed awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "Ah, that's right," he muttered. "Do any of you happen to have a key?" The group's attention was drawn down to his ankles, where two large weights sat chained to small cuffs.   
  
"No, sorry," Tubbo muttered, walking over and looking at the weights curiously. "I could lock pick them, but I don't have anything to use."  
  
"No, you can't," Tommy accused.  
  
"Yeah, I can! Remember when I broke into that pantry to get you an extra snack since someone took yours?"  
  
"Hm. Touché." Tommy grinned at Tubbo, who smiled back.   
  
"How heavy are they?" Clay asked, strolling over and lifting one with a small grunt. "Ah. Heavy, got it."  
  
"No way," Nick challenged but yielded the same result when he attempted to lift one.   
  
"The guards usually take them off when I'm in here, but then the alarm went off, and they got busy."   
  
"Watch out, I'll get it," Techno offered as he walked over. The group watched curiously as the boy tore apart the chain connecting the weight and cuff with ease, then repeated the action without a struggle.   
  
"Wow! How much do you work out?" Tommy asked, receiving a noise of disagreement from George.  
  
"No, I think that's just his... nevermind."   
  
"Thanks.. uh?" The blond looked at Techno expectantly, causing the boy to shift under his forest-green eyes.  
  
"Techno, that's Clay, Nick, and George. That's Tubbo, not Toby, and Tommy, not a kid," Techno introduced, hearing a few greetings and watching Clay shake his hand.   
  
"Ah, nice to meet you all. I'm Phil. Mind if I tag along?"  
  
"No problem, welcome to the gang," Nick answered before Techno could respond. "Right, Techno?" He looked to Techno with a wide grin, and the teen just sighed and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. If we ever make it out. No more distractions," Techno grumbled, turning towards the door, but a hand quickly shot out to stop him.  
  
"There's a guard coming," Clay muttered in a low voice. "He's got someone." Techno turned to the door, now becoming distinctly aware of the two pairs of footsteps that grew nearer with each second.  
  
Techno stood in the blindspot of the door, gesturing the others to hide. A faint humming grew louder, making the room uncomfortable and tense. Right as a gun came into sight, Techno sprung out of his spot and tackled the man to the ground. He slammed his fist into the guard's head, uneased at the lack of resistance, but continued his attack nonetheless at the worry he would fight back.   
  
He only stopped when Clay pulled him off, with a slight struggle, and looked down to see the man out cold. He blinked as he breathed heavily, before looking over to Clay, who frowned.   
  
"That's inconvenient," a new voice chimed in, breaking their staring contest. The two turned their heads towards the noise, and Techno narrowed his eyes in confusion at the boy's glare.   
  
"Huh?" Techno asked, and the brunet huffed, pushing his curly hair back.   
  
"That was my guide out, and now I'll have to find another one in this deserted maze," his golden-brown eyes connected with Techno's.   
  
"Sorry?" Techno muttered, looking back to Clay, then to his group. They stood in the doorway now, some giving stray glances to the guard, but most focused on the new face.  
  
"I'm Clay, sorry about taking out your friend."  
  
"Wilbur, and he wasn't a friend," the boy corrected. "He was more of a puppet." Clay slowly nodded, offering a hand out to Wilbur, who gladly shook it.  
  
"Well, Techno knows the way out. I'm sure he'd be fine if you tagged along," Clay offered, looking to Techno, who slowly nodded in agreement, unsure of what Clay wanted from him.  
  
"I don't know why everyone keeps asking me. I'm not responsible for you," Techno muttered. "You can come along, but we've got to get going. No, we don't have time for introductions again," he groaned as Nick walked forward.  
  
"Hi, I'm Nick," Nick greeted, completely ignoring the stressed boy and his noise of protest. "That's Georgie-."  
  
"George."  
  
"Phillip-," Nick hummed and smiled as Phil chuckled and waved, "Tommy, age three-."  
  
"Oi! I'm fifteen-!"  
  
"Tubby," he looked to Tubbo, who frowned.  
  
"Aw," Tubbo muttered. Nick frowned and ruffled the boy's head.  
  
"My bad, Toby or Tubbo. Good kid," Nick corrected, receiving a grin from the boy.  
  
"Why'd he get to be the good one!" Tommy complained. Nick laughed and shoved the boy playfully.  
  
"Because I am an honest soul, and you're a brat."  
  
"Ok, introductions over. Let's go," Techno begged.  
  
"Why're you in such a rush, Techno?" Nick asked curiously, resting an elbow on George, only to get shoved off a moment later.  
  
"I just want to get out of here," Techno explained, a tired look on his face. Phil smiled sympathetically and walked forward, patting his arm.  
  
"Yeah, I feel you," Phil hummed, looking down the hall. "So, just lead the way." Techno nodded and began once more in the direction of freedom. Upon arriving at the door, the eight glanced out at the battle scene.   
  
The guards were actually making good working in recapturing people. Some obviously slipped past, but a few guards were chasing after them. Techno pointed at the trees, looking to the others.   
  
"Which of you have the most mobile abilities?"  
  
"What?" Tommy asked, looking at him with furrowed brows.  
  
"I do," Phil hummed, raising his hand. "I can carry one person."  
  
"Me too," George agreed, "I can take two at most."  
  
"What?" Tommy repeated. He, once again, got ignored.  
  
"Ok, Phil. Can you take-," he looked at the group, then to Clay.  
  
"I'll take care of getting Nick and me to the trees," Clay assured.  
  
"Aw hell yeah! We can take care of some guards on the way!" Nick cheered, pumping his fist into the air.  
  
"Ok, Wilbur, Phil, and you are going to go to the open area near the tree line over there. George, can you take Tubbo and Tommy?"  
  
"Tommy and Tubbo," Tommy corrected.  
  
"Got it," George nodded.  
  
"What'll you be doing?" Tubbo asked, tilting his head curiously.  
  
"I'll make it over," Techno nodded assuringly.  
  
Phil sighed and stretched, and in a matter of seconds, a pair of wings began to sprout from his back.   
  
"What?" Tommy shouted, causing Phil to laugh.   
  
"That was my reaction the first time, too," he hummed, offering his hands to Wilbur, who took them with a grin.  
  
"Riding in style." Phil laughed once more and looked to the group.   
  
"See you guys on the other side." And with that, the blond took off, his white wings blowing a strong gust of air.  
  
"That- that can't be real," Tommy looked to Tubbo, who shrugged.   
  
"Looked real to me."  
  
"Tubbo, that's literally impossible," Tommy huffed.  
  
"Nothing's impossible," Tubbo argued back.  
  
"No time to contemplate life, let's go." George grabbed ahold of their jumpers and looked to the landing spot. In a blink of an eye, the three were there.  
  
Clay and Nick looked to Techno, who looked out at the crowd with a smirk. Without a word, he was out the door and running into the battleground.  
  
"I've got sights on subject zero!" In a matter of seconds, Techno was swarmed. Almost every guard directed their full attention to Techno. Clay watched with confusion, looking to Nick with a shrug.  
  
"Come on! Let's go!" Nick chirped, rushing forward and tackling a guard to the ground. Clay cackled and rushed forward as well.   
  
Techno felt the bullets shot at him bounce off and grinned, taking the useless attacks as power. His clothes didn't appreciate the ammunition as much, but it didn't matter. He rushed forward and punched a guard, sending him flying back. A small surge of energy left him, but it was nothing compared to the amount he was gaining.  
  
He looked at the others with a ferocious grin, grabbing the next nearest guard and swinging him into the others, causing them to topple like dominoes. He dropped low to the ground and spun around, his leg out and knocking down the guards that approached behind him. He then quickly knocked out the fallen.   
  
He rose once more, feeling fists pat against his back. He's sure it wasn't supposed to feel like pats, but that's how he perceived it. He spun around and grabbed the person by their neck, before tossing them into the gunmen, grinning as they all flew back a few yards. He turned back a second too late, and a group of five or six people grabbed him, pulling him down.   
  
Just as he began to pull back against their combined weight, five more came from the front and dragged him down. He grunted in annoyance, still managing to stay up.  
  
Suddenly, he felt slightly lighter, and he looked to see Nick and Clay taking out some of the guards clung to him. The two both cheered when they managed to take one out. Once there were only six people left, Techno was able to toss them off. Before he could rush off to fight more soldiers, however, Clay grabbed his arm and yanked him over towards the others.   
  
"That was reckless," he huffed, looking to Techno.   
  
"I didn't ask for all of them to fight me," Techno pointed out, staring back at Clay's narrowed eyes.   
  
"You looked more than willing to keep fighting."   
  
"I was," Techno plainly pointed out, looking over to Wilbur, who stifled his laughter. Clay just sighed.  
  
"Why were they all on you anyway?" Nick asked, tilting his head as he shook out his hand. Techno opened his mouth to answer, then closed it.   
  
"I don't know where to go from here," he muttered, looking into the woods in an attempt to change the subject.   
  
"I say northeast," Phil offered, smiling at the nod Techno gave him and the small hint of appreciation on his face.  
  
"I vote northwest," George challenged with a small grin on his face.  
  
"There’s no time to argue, we have to choose before someone sees us," Clay pointed out. Nick looked around curiously before strolling forward. He stopped and looked to his left with a tilted head.  
  
"Excuse me," he hummed, gaining the group's attention and pulling them out of their debate. Their assumption that he was talking to them was incorrect. "Would you happen to know a good place to camp for the night, preferably big and hidden?"  
  
A small series of chirps caught their attention. A chickadee sat perched on a branch, looking at Nick. "Really?" A chirped reply. "That's great! Thank you so much," Nick exclaimed, waving at the animal then turning to the group.  
  
"I'm going insane," Tommy muttered.   
  
"Shut up, my ability is cool," Nick huffed. "I know a place to stay!"  
  
"Really," Clay asked, strolling forward. "Where?"  
  
"A cave!" Nick grinned. "Only a mile away!" Wilbur sighed.  
  
"I'm going back to the lab. I'll break out tomorrow morning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. So you know nothing about what's going on. Whoops,, dw it will all make sense soon I swear!!  
> Welcome to my new story!! If you came from my other story, first off, I love you <3\. Secondly, I'm sure you can tell this is not Mimic Verse. I hope you like this story :) I'm very very excited for it!!  
> My sister actually came up with the plot, I'm merely a slave to her mind, writing out our ideas. We've been planning this since What Still Remains, so boy oh boy is this gonna be fun. She's kinder than I am, so less angst maybe :)) Again, more will be explained in chapter two!! So dw if it all doesn't add up yet, however, if y'all got theories tell me!! Pls muah ily<3  
> Anyway!! Ty to my sister and friend for beta reading!! Very pog of yall <3  
> Thank you all so much for reading!! Stay safe! I love you all!! Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night. (day)
> 
> ((Edit: I was told Techno doesn't like his real life name being used online, so I changed some things. Thank you for understanding))


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When acquaintances become friends.
> 
> ((If you were one of the few to read the first chapter when I had Techno's name as his IRL name,,, pls pretend it was Techno all along. I've been told he doesn't want his real name used, and so I went back and changed it :)) ty for understanding!)))

The group's escape started in a brisk run, in an attempt to get a far enough distance away from the lab. After ten minutes, however, Wilbur slowed to a walk.

"Wilbur?" Phil asked as he, too, slowed and turned to face the boy. Wilbur stared back at him with uninterested eyes, tilting his head.

"Yeah, what's up, buddy?" Wilbur questioned, watching as the others gradually slowed to a stop and stared at him. He began strolling over to where they stood, gazing back at the eyes with equal curiosity. "Why're we stopping?"

"You stopped first," Tubbo pointed out, a small huff following his claim as he attempted to catch his breath.

"I haven't stopped at all," Wilbur hummed as he passed Phil, who watched him walk by with a confused smile. "Let's go."

"Are we walking now?" George asked, watching Tommy begin to walk with Wilbur as he passed. Wilbur shrugged, motioning for the others to follow.

"Running is more efficient," Techno muttered but followed behind Tommy and Wilbur as they walked by. Tubbo and Phil were quick to run and catch up to the three. 

"Is it? Then run," Wilbur suggested, but when no one moved to run, he smirked. "I don't see anyone following us, do you?"

"No," Techno answered reluctantly, looking to Clay as the five passed the frozen three.

"Then why are we running? The cave's only a little further ahead, and wouldn't it be best to be most stealthy around the location we're staying?" Wilbur reasoned. 

"I suppose," Clay shrugged, looking to Nick, who looked to the little chickadee, which had followed and given instructions when needed.

"Yeah, it's only a five-minute walk," Nick replied after a small series of chirps, beginning to walk alongside George and Clay. 

"Oh, thank God, I was getting tired," Tommy complained, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, me too," Wilbur pointed out. "A majority of that reasoning was bullshit; I was just lucky it worked out." The others looked at him with slightly wider eyes before chuckling among themselves. It was silent for a few moments after that; the only noise was the shuffles of jumpsuits and the crunching footsteps through the leaves.

"So!" Tommy interrupted the silence. "What the hell was that?" The others looked at him expectantly, but when he didn't specify, Clay laughed.

"What was what?" Tommy narrowed his eyes at the boy. 

"All of that- the breakout, the- the wings?" He looked at Phil, who sheepishly smiled and shrugged. 

"You don't know?" Tubbo asked, making Tommy's head snap to his left to look at his best friend.

"Oh no," Tommy whined. "Are you telling me Tubbo knows more than me?" he asked, burying his face in his hands. "What the hell has the world come to?" 

"The breakout was my doing," Clay hummed, laughing as every head turned to look at him. "I had been planning for this for about three weeks-."

"Weren't we taken in three weeks ago?" Nick asked with a chuckle; Clay nodded in affirmation. 

"Three weeks? I was only there for two and a half," Tommy pointed out, and Tubbo nodded in agreement.

"I was there for two-."

"Let him continue," Techno muttered, quickly directing their attention back to Clay. Clay nodded to Techno and shoved his hands into his jumper's pockets.

"I was able to break into their file and information room. I read almost every file over the course of a few days- and the best part? They had no clue I was even missing!" he laughed, the grin on his face grew. "I was able to figure out who was most useful in breaking into the power room and ruining everything, and that was when I talked to-."

"Me?" Tubbo asked, receiving a nod from Clay. 

"Yep, you knew how to disable the door's security card system, and what you needed to break and turn off to shut down the lab."

"I helped!" Tubbo chirped, applauding happily. Tommy merely stared in disbelief. 

"You knew all of that?"

"I think so," Tubbo nodded. Tommy's shocked expression fell to a frown, and Tubbo panicked. "Wait- what'd I do wrong?"

"You planned a breakout with a guy you met- what- once or twice instead of me!" Tommy complained, earning a few fits of laughter from the others walking. Tommy didn't find it that funny.

"Oh, sorry," Tubbo apologized. Tommy merely shrugged. Nick looked to Clay with a fake pout, making the green-eyed boy cackle.

"You're upset too?" he asked between laughs. Nick nodded, looking to George.

"This guy has no sympathy for my feelings, can you believe him?"

"I really don't either," George hummed, making Clay laugh harder, and Nick shoved George playfully.

"So why were we there?" Tommy asked, interrupting the three.

"Have you not noticed how different we are from normal civilians?" Wilbur asked, and Tommy sighed.

"You mean Phil's wings and shit-."

"Language, Tommy," Wilbur scolded.

"Sorry, and George's weird teleportation thing?"

"Yeah, we all have something special about us- they probably wanted to test on us and figure out why."

"I don't think that's what they wanted," Clay admitted. Phil nodded in agreement.

"I was there for a while; they never tried anything with me aside from the weights to keep me grounded. They were rather nice," Phil pointed out.

"Based on the files, they had no intent on testing, or at least had no preparation for any tests," Clay explained.

"Sorry to interrupt your little theorizing session, but we're here," Nick waved at the group. He followed the little bird to a small hole in the side of a hill. "Uh- I appreciate the help, but we won't be able to fit in there," Nick explained. The bird chirped in response, and Nick's eyes furrowed as he searched the rocks, before grinning. "I see, thanks for the help!" He called as the bird flew off. Nick spun around and locked eyes with Techno, who sighed and walked over. "Loose rocks right here, can you pull them off?" 

"Yeah, I should be able to," Techno looked to the boulders at the bottom of the rock pile and hummed. "Out of the way, nerd." He kicked the rock as hard as he could and watched as it flew and slammed into a base of a smaller tree, causing a loud crack to fill the air. Techno repeated the action at another large rock, which held up the others. With a simple kick, the rocks topple out of the way to reveal an opening. The rock collided with the tree, much like the other, and the plant toppled over with a loud thud.

"Firewood," Tubbo chirped as he walked over. Phil walked over and helped the boy collect wood. Clay picked up two rocks and strolled into the stone-encased home, and after a moment, Phil and Tubbo returned with arms full of wood. In a matter of moments, a dim fire lit their temporary house. The rest of the group flooded in shortly after.

"So, you all have abilities?" Tommy asked, looking around the faces as they gathered about the fire. They all nodded, including Tubbo. "Well?" Clay sighed and grabbed a spare stick, toying with it before looking over to the others.

"Hi, I'm Clay-."

"We know," Nick hummed, stumbling over as the stick whacked him.

"I am seventeen years old. My best friend is Nick; I've known him practically my whole life. I was taken in by the lab three weeks ago; how they found out I had an ability, I have no idea. They had a list with names on it, but they didn't explain what or where the list came from," Clay muttered, tapping his chin. Nick tapped him and gestured for him to get back on track. "Oh- my ability is clairvoyance. I can only see into other people's futures, however, and I have to make physical contact to be able to use it." 

"That makes so much sense and no sense at the same time," Tommy complained. Phil pat his back sympathetically. 

"Who's next?" Clay asked, holding out the stick with a grin. Nick snatched it quickly and whacked Clay, promptly continuing before the other could comment.

"Howdy," he hummed. "I'm Nick, sixteen, best friend of George-."

"I don't even know you?"

"What the hell!" Clay huffed, making the group laugh.

"I was taken in by the lab three weeks ago. Me and Clay here were strolling in a park, then next thing we know, bada bing bada boom, we're kidnapped. I can talk to animals, no biggie."

"Can you make them do what you want?" Wilbur asked curiously.

"Nope, but they usually cooperate," Nick explained with a grin. "Any takers?" he asked, waving the stick around curiously. No one moved; the six merely looked around to each other. "Come on," he encouraged, and finally, Phil took the stick. "Very nice!"

"Hi, I'm Phil," Phil greeted with a wave. "I'm nineteen, and I've been in the lab for almost two months."

"Damn," George hummed, earning a small chuckle from Phil.

"Yeah, my ability is pretty self-evident. If I'm in danger, my wings will immediately appear- I learned that the hard way. Otherwise, I can summon them on will in fifteen seconds."

"That sounds like a story," Wilbur pointed out. Phil nodded in agreement, smiling widely.

"I was on the roof of my college when we were checking it out- no reason I was out there, I just needed fresh air. I was in the middle of moving out for my first semester. Something happened, and I stumbled and fell over the edge of the building. Before I could plummet to my death, however, my body acted on its own, and next thing I know- I floated peacefully to the ground. The screaming and shock of the other students weren't peaceful, and the next day, I was grabbed and taken to the lab."

"You stumbled?" Wilbur asked in mild disbelief, and Phil quickly nodded.

"Yes, it was merely a misstep. I swear," Phil said, holding his hands up in defense at the accusation. Wilbur nodded and held his hand out for the stick.

"I believe you, don't worry," he hummed with a smile. "I am Wilbur. I am eighteen years old, and I got taken a month and a half ago," he explained. "I was in my room, relaxing. My doorbell rang, and assuming it was the pizza I ordered, I went to check. I think you can assume the rest." Tubbo looked to Tommy, who sighed and leaned over, whispering something in his ear.

"Oh."

"My ability is mind control-."

"Whoa!" Tommy chirped, looking to the boy with wide eyes. "That's so cool!"

"I know, please calm down," Wilbur hummed, and Tommy stared at him.

"Ok- no wait. Make me," Tommy said defiantly. Wilbur huffed and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Good try, but no. Calm down," Wilbur repeated, and Tommy sighed in defeat.

"Right, no one tells Tommy what to do anyway," he muttered, picking at his nails. Wilbur held the stick out and looked around the room. The second he made eye contact with George, he shoved it towards the boy. George stared at it for a second before taking it reluctantly.

"Hi, I'm George-." Clay and Nick cheered, making him flush and look at them with a confused glare. "I am eighteen... and I have teleportation. Who's next?"

"Boo! Lame!" Nick hissed. "When'd you get taken and how?

"Fine, jeez. I was walking home from the store, and then someone tried to grab me. I, of course, wasn't ready, so I couldn't respond quick enough to teleport away before they injected me with a sedative-."

"Of course," Clay said with a nod, earning a huff from George.

"Shut up. Anyway, I've been in the lab for one month and three weeks," George said, before quickly passing the stick to Tubbo. Tubbo looked down at it then to Tommy.

"Oh, I don't have anything prepared."

"Oh my God, Tubbo," Tommy groaned. "Just- copy what they did."

"But that's cheating."

"No, it's not, just do it, Tubbo," Tommy ordered, and Tubbo nodded.

"'Ello-."

"'Ello," Phil mimicked, making Tubbo look to him with a smile.

"Oh, 'ello! I'm Tubbo. Best friend of Tommy, I'm fourteen, and I got taken to the lab-." Tubbo stopped to count his fingers. "Three weeks ago. I was walking home from school when suddenly someone asked me to help them load some boxes into their van. I agreed, but then I passed out. Next thing I know, I'm in a lab!"

"What even is your power, Tubbo?" Tommy asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"Oh! I'm smart sometimes-."

"What?" Wilbur asked. "Isn't everyone?"

"Hm, I guess so! I guess I don't have an ability-." 

"No- Tubbo," Clay cut him off. "Explain your ability, actually think about it."

"Oh, ok." Tubbo nodded, tapping his chin. "I have what's technically considered superintelligence. When I use it, however, I have to focus on the specific topic I need, but by doing that, it lessens my brain's focus and intelligence on other subjects. So if I need to focus on history, I wouldn't be able to solve a simple math problem, like two plus two."

"You're not smart," Tommy said after a few moments of silence.

"Oh," Tubbo muttered, nodding. "Yeah, that makes sense." The two shared a look before laughing. 

"You're so stupid, Tubbo. Do you cheat on your tests in school?"

"I try not to," Tubbo explained, grinning as he handed Tommy the stick. Tommy took it and looked down with furrowed brows.

"I'm Tommy," Tommy announced, fiddling with the stick. "I'm fifteen-."

"No, you aren't- we're the same age. You said that in the lab, too."

"Shut up, Tubbo," Tommy groaned. "I'm holding the stick, so I get to speak."

"Oh, sorry," Tubbo apologized, and Tommy continued.

"I'm Tommy," he repeated. "Or 4-19. I am fourteen years old, and my best friend is Tubbo. I've been in the lab for two weeks. I-." He paused and looked around. "Techno's turn."

"What's your ability, and how'd you get taken?" Tubbo asked, making Tommy glance at him with a frown.

"Techno's turn," he shoved the stick into the male's hand. 

"Go on," Clay encouraged, looking at Techno expectantly. "You've been awfully quiet." Techno stared back at him, twirling the stick in his hand. 

"Have I?" he asked. Clay's lip twitched down to a frown. 

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Phil hummed, drawing his attention. "Are you ok?" Techno nodded sharply, drawing in the dirt with the stick.

"Well...?" Clay asked, and Techno just let out a soft sigh.

"My name's Techno."

"Is that your real name?" Wilbur asked. Techno blinked, hesitant to answer, but sharply nodded once more.

"What else?" George asked.

"What more do you need to know?"  
  
"Your age? Power? How long you've been in the lab? Everyone's said their share, weren't you listening?" Nick pointed out, sharing a look with Clay. 

"Yeah, I was listening. I just don't know why it's important." Techno took off his glove and brushed the drawing away. 

"We want to know who we're staying in a cave with. I think that's reasonable; what about you?" Clay asked, gaze narrowing as he met Techno's eyes.

"Seventeen years old."

"Great job! Go on," Clay encouraged with a small grin. Techno huffed and shrugged.

"That's not enough?" Techno groaned, running a hand through his brown hair. Clay barked out a laugh.

"No? I have the most questions about you, and I want them answered. A name and age just doesn't suffice," Clay pointed out. Techno looked away with a frown, meeting Tommy's eyes.

"I wanna know how you broke a wall!" Tommy piped in. Clay grinned wider and nodded.

"Give the boy what he wants, Techno!"

"Why are you interrogating me? It feels like I've committed a crime," Techno muttered. He rewrote his name for the hundredth time. 

"Would you know what that's like?" Nick asked, watching as Techno's eyes shot up to meet his, confusion swirling in them.

"No? You're making assumptions."

"And we'll keep making assumptions unless you talk," Clay added. Techno groaned louder and jabbed the stick into the dirt.

"Fine, go ahead."

"Ok!" Clay clapped, hearing Nick laugh from beside him.

"Oh God, we'll be here for a while," Nick hummed, leaning against George once more, who shoved him off. 

"Where to start, where to start? Your real name isn't Techno, though that one seemed obvious." Techno eyed him, but his bored face didn't reveal anything. "Your power is strength-based, but there's some invincibility or healing aspects to it. Those bullets and punches did nothing to you. Anything wrong?"

"Who's to say?" Techno hummed, watching Clay frown.

"You have a zero on your suit. The files didn't mention anything about zero with the code numbers-."

"You know what the code numbers were?" Tubbo asked, shifting as his eyes gleamed with curiosity. 

"Why didn't you mention it when we asked in the lab?" George huffed, frowning.

"It wasn't the right time; we were in the middle of a high stake breakout, couldn't kill the mood with all that explanation bullshit. Besides, I was still confused about you," Clay hummed, looking to Techno's blue eyes.

"What a coincidence, I'm confused about me too. Go on, let's see if our theories match?" Techno challenged, Clay grinned in response.

"Code One, power is known, and the subject is a threat, whether that's towards escaping or towards guards. Code Two, power is known, and the subject is a potential threat. Code Three, power is known, and the subject is not a threat. Code Four, power is unknown. Those are the only code numbers listed in the files. So, that got me wondering, what is Code Zero?"

"Beats me," Techno admitted. 

"You mentioned not knowing about how many people there are in the lab. Like, you were shocked that there were even six people there, albeit there is way more than that-."

"Yeah! When you broke down the wall, you acted like you didn't know other people were there," Tommy pointed out, and Clay grinned, laughing.

"More solid evidence, you didn't know anyone was here!" Techno didn't respond for a moment but nodded. 

"I didn't," he muttered in a quiet voice, almost shy to admit. 

"Code Zero, you were the first subject. They made you a top priority. Code one is a high threat- so how high of a threat are you? There wasn't a file on you, either. You were the first subject, right? How long were you there?" Techno sighed and shoved his face in his hands, and the cave was silent for a minute.

"I was given that number since I arrived before they even knew I was a big threat. I'm not- I'm not a big threat, the lab just made me a priority because of my escape attempts," Techno muttered, not looking up.

"How long were you there?" Phil asked. Techno laughed bitterly. 

"Kinetic energy, the energy of moving objects. The second something moving hits me, I can absorb the energy and redistribute it throughout my body. That's why I'm strong," Techno explained, lifting his head to take in the questioning looks.

"Techno," he looked to Clay, the boy's face now sported a small frown. "How long?"

"Eight months. Almost every day for the first two months, I tried to escape, but they always caught me," Techno whispered, running his hands over one another nervously. "I realized I had to change my tactic." The fidgeting in his hands grew faster, despite his same flat tone. "I-I needed to store up my energy- but there wasn't any easy, quick way. So I went with the best option. I sat, and conserved every bit of energy I could get, through footsteps in the hall- any vibration in the floor."

"You're saying you sat still for six months?" Nick asked, his voice breaking through the silence. Techno nodded, opening his mouth to speak, then closing it. He took a small breath as he picked at his short nails.

"It was originally going to be ten months to a year- I needed a lot of energy. For all I knew, I was still the only one, and the growing vibrations through the floor were from more guards. I needed as much energy as I could get if I were to take on a hundred guards targeting me. It didn't matter too much- sitting and doing nothing. I ate and showered, and any other necessities, I made sure I kept somewhat in shape, but for most hours of the day, I just," he paused and rubbed a hand down his face. "I just sat. I just wanted to be free. Any other assumptions?" he muttered nervously, but Phil seemed to notice his distress and quickly spoke up.

"Nope, I think we're fine on information!" Phil interjected before Clay could comment, catching Techno's attention. "Besides, we're out now, and they're gonna have a hell of a lot more trouble getting us back since we're together."

"Yeah! If they think they're gonna get me back, they're dead wrong!" Tommy huffed enthusiastically, his boost in mood affecting Tubbo, who looked to him with a grin.

"Yeah! They can't catch us! We're badass!" Tubbo cheered with Tommy, the two exchanging excited looks.

"Fuck 'em!" Tommy yelled, but Wilbur smacked him.

"Watch your fucking language, Tommy!"

"Sorry, sorr- wait! You're not my dad- why should I listen to you?" Tommy accused, Tubbo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! He doesn't have a dad!"

"Tubbo-." Tommy turned and stared at him, and Tubbo quickly blinked in alarm.

"Ah, did someone adopt you? Congratulations!" Tubbo chirped excitedly, not seeming to understand Tommy's frown.

"I- that's not the point!" Tommy huffed, watching Tubbo's smile drop. He glared at the ground, drawing in the dirt with his finger. 

"I don't get it," Tubbo admitted, a lost look crossing his face.

"You're an orphan?" Clay asked, watching Tommy's eyes lift momentarily to meet his, then sink back down.

"Yeah," he muttered. "What of it? Got a problem with it?" Tommy's voice grew louder with the accusation.

"Nope," Clay replied, popping the 'p,' with a small grin as he exchanged a glance with Nick. "Nick and I are too; it's how we met." Nick scoffed and nodded.

"He was so attached to me!" Nick claimed, ignoring Clay's scoff. "He didn't even leave me alone after I got adopted! He brainwashed another family into adopting him, and we became neighbors."

"You're delusional," Clay laughed.

"I was an orphan too," Wilbur hummed, patting Tommy on the back. Philza made a noise of confusion that drew the group's attention.

"I think I see a pattern here," Phil pointed out. "Raise your hand if you're an orphan." Everyone but one raised their hand, and all eyes went to Techno. Reluctantly, a stick joined the hands in the air.

"Is it a coincidence?" George asked, but Techno shook his head.

"Can't be," Techno muttered. "But why would they just get orphans?"

"Alright, let's think about this," Wilbur offered. "What was your orphanage's name? If I remember correctly, mine was Esempe Orphanage." There was a chorus of agreement, then silence as stray eyes wandered the room.

"We all-," George paused, looking around in confusion. "We all came from the same orphanage?"

"It was a pretty big orphanage, but still, you'd think we'd remember," Nick pointed out.

"I do." Everyone looked at Phil. "Well, I didn't, until now. I haven't thought of the place in years, and when I last saw anyone, they weren't even teenagers. It was-," he paused in thought, "almost eight years ago for me."

"Me too," George and Wilbur pointed out in unison. They shared a look.

"I remember playing hide and seek and tag a lot. We did it with someone else, but they got adopted not too long after we met them. About a year or so?" Nick asked, looking to Clay, who nodded. 

"Yeah, after he left, I tried to get this other kid to play with us, but the only way he'd accept was if it were a challenge," Clay said.

"I played hide and seek a lot there, too," George muttered. "One time, I hid under the seeker's bed, and he didn't find me until the next morning-." Clay wheezed, and Nick looked to George with a wide grin.

"Look at that! Destiny brought us together, George!" Nick teased, but the excitement was evident in his grin. George narrowed his eyes.

"And yet my heart is telling me to leave as quickly as possible. I can't use adoption as an escape route anymore, so maybe I'll elope," George muttered.

"With who?" Clay accused, making George laugh and shrug.

"Dunno."

"I remember all of you," Phil hummed. "I didn't need to keep an eye on you three as much," George, Clay, and Nick grinned, "but it seems like that'll change."

"You always kept me out of trouble," Wilbur recalled, and Phil nodded. "I remember you two," Wilbur pointed out as he looked over to Tommy and Tubbo, who exchanged a look. "You guys were only five, and I could get you to do anything for me." 

"Your power is literally mind control!" Tubbo pointed out, but Wilbur shook his head with a grin.

"I didn't need to use it. All I had to do was ask, and you two would be ready to serve," Wilbur grinned, Tommy blinked as he tried to recall.

"All I remember is having to do your chores once, then Phil yelled at you, and you had to do ours," Tommy replied with a grin. "You were our bitch!"

"Was I? Was I really, Tommy?" Wilbur asked in a low tone, making Tommy's grin falter.

"No, you were our lovely friend," Tommy muttered reluctantly, but he received a pat on the head from Wilbur. 

"You and your friends weren't the big issue, though. You usually listened," Phil quickly changed the subject. "You, however, you were a different story," he glared at Techno, who bit back a smile in response. "You weren't even a bad kid! You would go off on your own, though, into the woods or wherever! Then when I'd try to treat the random cuts and bruises you'd get, you'd run away!"

"Whoops," Techno replied cooly.

"Whoops is absolutely the wrong response! Your name wasn't Techno though, it was-," Phil paused, catching the worry flash in Techno's eyes. "It doesn't matter, what matters is that your name is Techno now," Phil assured, smiling as his worry seemed to dissipate.

"I'm not asking your real name," Clay suddenly spoke up. "But I am curious as to why you changed it. Did your parents change it when you were adopted?"

"He wasn't adopted," Tommy called out, getting looks from everyone. Tommy looked to Techno, then back with a grin when he didn't see him trying to stop the boy. "He just left! It was so cool, one day everyone woke up- and he was just gone! I wanted to do that, too, but I stayed with Tubbo." Tommy looked to the boy, who smiled in response. 

"What about after I left?" Tubbo asked in a lower voice, and Tommy blinked.

"Oh, well after you left two years ago-," Tommy paused. "I left, too." Tubbo grinned and patted his back.

"That's so cool!" Tubbo chirped, and Tommy grinned back. 

"About the new name?" Clay asked, directing their attention back to Techno.

"Well," Techno muttered. "You heard Tommy, I left. I wanted to leave that part of me behind, and a new identity was the easiest way. Doesn't seem to have worked since it's all been dug up again." Techno scanned the regretful faces and sighed, smiling softly. "At least it's not the bad stuff."

"We should do that!" Nick offered, gaining stares. "Code names- to hide our identity! Maybe it'll help keep the lab off of us, and it can be a new start! We can't go back to our homes," Nick said, mood dropping at the realization, but he quickly pushed it away. "So, let's start a new family."

"Ok," Clay hummed, tapping his chin. "I'll be Dream," he offered after a few minutes of thought. Nick stared at him with a grin.

"Why Dream?"

"Why not? Looking into the future kind of feels like a dream, your watching through someone else's eyes. Besides, I am somewhat of a dreamy guy," Dream said, sticking his tongue out at Nick's disgusted face.

"Gross, I want something original. Something that's never been heard of," Nick mumbled, tapping his chin. 

"Panda's are your favorite animal, and you're an animal guy, so go off of that." The room was silent for a moment. 

"Sapnap," Tubbo offered, and Tommy looked at him in confusion. "It's pandas backward!"

"Tubbo," Tommy laughed, "That's Panpas, not Pandas, you idiot." Nick grinned and nodded. 

"Oh," Tubbo laughed, running a hand through his hair. "So, Sadnap?"

"Nah, Sadnap sounds edgy. I'll be Sapnap," Sapnap agreed with a nod, making Tubbo beam. 

"I'm sticking with Wilbur," Wilbur hummed, grinning. "It's a power move. Besides, I like my name."

"I like my name, too," George pointed out. "I'm not creative enough to come up with a new name, and the ones I have are all longer and ineffective in hiding my identity."

"What are they?" Phil asked curiously.

"Actually, it's only one. GeorgeNotFound," George muttered. "You know, because I do that teleporty thing, then I'm not found." Clay laughed but nodded.

"I like it, but I will be calling you George for short."

"Sure," George agreed with a small smile.

"I'll be Tubbo," Tubbo called. "Most people know me by Toby, so it'll be fine! Besides, I like the nickname." Tommy failed to conceal his grin.

"Thanks, Tubbo." 

"I just want to be Philza," Philza hummed. "It's catchy, and a play on my first and last name."

"What's your last name?" Techno asked, but Philza shook his head.

"Doesn't matter anymore," a somber mood began to replace the light-hearted one. 

"I'll be Tommy the Strong-," Tommy offered quickly, earning a few laughs. The mood was no longer somber. "What?"

"No, retry," was all Philza said. 

"Fine, Tommy the Destroyer?"

"No articles in your name at all," Techno huffed, shaking his head.

"Damn, fine." Tommy sat in silence for a moment. "Tommy Innit, or Mister Innit. Last names are powerful," Tommy explained, looking to Philza and Techno for approval. The two shared a look but nodded.

"That works," Philza hummed with a smile. "I like it!"

"I'm not calling you Mister Innit, though," Techno hummed. "In fact, I'm still calling you Tommy.

"Deal!" Tommy chirped with a nod. 

"Ok, so, just to summarize. Roll call, Dream."

"Sapnap," Sapnap raised his hand, looking to George, who did the same.

"GeorgeNotFound, or George."

"Tubbo!" Tubbo called, raising his hand.

"Tommy Innit the Destroyer-."

"No," Wilbur deadpanned, and Tommy shrugged. 

"Worth a try," he muttered. 

"Wilbur Soot, or Wilbur."

"Philza, or Phil." The group looked to Techno expectantly, and the boy sighed.

"Technoblade, or Techno."

"Whoa, how'd we not know about part two of your name?" Tommy asked, and Techno shrugged. Tubbo stifled a yawn from beside Tommy and laid on the dirt floor.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow," Techno offered, gesturing to Tubbo. "I think we should rest."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, alright. Promise?" The group didn't notice Techno's frown as they laid in the circle around the fire.

"Yeah, sure." Techno laid down and stared at the roof's ceiling, reluctantly closing his eyes.

..

.

When he awoke, the sun was low in the sky. Techno blinked in confusion at his surroundings before a flood of memories hit him of the previous night. He had gotten too personal and began growing fond of the group. That wouldn't do.

Techno picked himself up, brushing the dirt off his jumper and pulling off his gloves. He set them in his spot, leaving them semi-folded. He didn't have a napkin- or a meal- but he figured this would suffice. He hoped they'd get the message that he finished the meal and it was time to take his leave. He was done with the group. It was the politest way he could think to announce his departure without being there.

He turned to leave the cave and faltered at the figure standing at the entrance. Nonetheless, he pushed forward and out into the opening, but as suspected, the boy grabbed his hand to stop him. "Leaving so soon?" was the faint question. 

"I don't do groups," Techno muttered in response, staring back at Dream. 

"Leaving with no goodbye?" Dream asked, frowning. "You can stay with us; we're better as a group. I won't ask questions if that's the problem."

"No," Techno muttered, sighing tiredly. "I wouldn't be good for this group. You guys will be fine on your own, don't worry about me," Techno huffed, but Dream's frown grew.

"You say that, but you're going in the direction the guards are searching." At Techno's confused stare, Dream gestured to their hands. "Skin contact, I can see into the future, remember? The longer the connection, the more I can see. If I were you, I'd go left."

"Towards the lab?" Techno asked suspiciously, but Dream held his hands up defensively. 

"Maybe they missed our hiding place and kept searching. You don't have to believe me," Dream admitted, shrugging. "But it's the same ability that helped get us out together." Techno sighed and pulled his hand out of Dream's grasp.

"Thanks, I guess. Goodbye, Dream," Techno hummed as he began towards the lab. 

"See you later, Techno."

.

After about ten minutes of walking, Techno felt a surge of annoyance swim in him. "Fucking damn you, Dream," he hissed under his breath. Before him, a group of soldiers wandered the area, scanning every inch of ground and surrounding trees. He stood ducked behind a tree, a good enough distance away from them to be unnoticeable. He hissed a few more swears and turned around. If he was quick enough, he could make it back to the camp in three minutes, before the others woke up, then continue past them.

He arrived back in four. Not that it mattered. "Hey, look! Our faithful leader has returned from his scope out! See anything of interest?" Dream asked with a knowing grin. Techno walked forward with a glare but was stopped by a hand tugging on his sleeves.

"You left these," Tommy pointed out with a grin, handing him the gloves he left folded on the ground. Techno looked at the smiling boy's, his glare easing. He took them with a sigh and pulled them on.

"Thanks, Tommy. And yeah, Dream, I did see something. Want to take a guess?"

"Oh, I don't know; what was it?" Dream hummed, amusement clear in his voice. Tubbo walked over to Tommy's side.

"Was it guards?"

"Yeah, Tubbo. It was guards," Techno muttered. Tubbo cheered, high-fiving Tommy, and Techno once again felt his anger dissipate slightly.

"Good job, Tubbo!" Dream nodded, rubbing his hands together with a clap. 

"So, if there're guards nearby, we should get going," Philza suggested, and Dream nodded.

"Yeah, we should all get going. Is everyone out and ready?" Dream asked, not even trying to conceal the stare and grin he directed towards Techno.

"All clear," Sapnap hummed, saluting to Techno as he walked over by Dream.

"Alright, let's go! Phil, can you fill Techno in on the plan while we walk?" Dream asked, and Phil nodded happily. And just like that, Techno was pulled back into the group.

"We're trying to find where our powers came from," Philza explained. Techno nodded in understanding. In all honesty, he didn't care, but he had the feeling he wouldn't be able to leave. He couldn't with one guy knowing, how would he with eight stopping him. Would they stop him? He looked over to Tommy, who grinned widely. Maybe they would.

"We're going to the orphanage." Techno stumbled on his feet and looked to Tommy with wide eyes.

"What, why?"

"Do you remember anything from before the orphanage?" Dream asked, and honestly? Not at all. So Techno shook his head. "Yeah, neither do we, except for Philza." 

"I only remember the path we took to get to the orphanage. I don't know what's at the end of the trail," Phil admitted. 

"Why do we want to know?" Techno asked, the small chatter of other conversations halted. 

"You don't want to know?" Sapnap asked with a confused laugh. Techno shrugged. 

"I don't care whether I know or don't."

"But if we find out why we have abilities- or- or how we got them, maybe we can figure out why the lab is hunting us," Tubbo explained. "Then we can go back home," he muttered. Techno felt stupidly selfish; of course they wanted to get back to their families. 

"Ok," he nodded. "So, we're going to the orphanage?" There were a few nods. 

"It's a long trip, and we have to find a town for supplies and directions, but yeah," Dream explained. Techno nodded; at least they had the basis of a plan. And so, he followed their lead. He was fairly silent for the first hour, making little conversation. Of course, Tommy ruined that.

"So, Techoblade," Tommy called, gaining his attention. The boy and Tubbo stared at him, "You promised to tell me how you got your name."

"Ah, right." Techno had hoped he would've been gone by now- it was a stupid story. Sadly, there were some complications. "It's not that long or interesting."

"Sounds interesting," Sapnap hummed, making Techno distinctly aware of the silence that befell the group. 

"Yeah," George agreed. "Go on; we're all listening."

"Yeah, I noticed," Techno muttered. "I went to a nearby town after I left the orphanage. I was trying to steal something- for the first time. It was an apple from one of their local stands. The seller actually was the one to catch me," Techno explained. "He asked me for my name- and I couldn't give him my real name. I was avoiding way too many people." He paused, running a hand through his hair as he felt his face burn in embarrassment.

"So?" Wilbur asked, lips twitching up in amusement. 

"So," he muttered. "I looked to my left, and there's a shop advertising a new device- I don't remember what kind- but I went for a synonym. Technology was too long, so Techno."

"Are you kidding me-," George cried, followed by laughter. Dream wheezed, his steps slowing.

"What about Blade?" Tommy said between laughs, and Techno just ducked his head more.

"He asked for my last name, and on his counter was a knife to cut up some fruit," Techno trailed off.

"Blade!" Sapnap cried, laughing loudly as he and George tried to support each other. Dream gave up and fell to the ground, slamming his fist on it. Tommy and Tubbo looked close to joining him, supporting each other with one arm around the other's shoulder. Philza was leaned against a tree, covering his mouth in a weak attempt to hid his laughter. Wilbur didn't try to hide his laughter; in fact, he was leaning on Techno. And Techno was watching the scene with a burning face. 

It was a solid five minutes before they were able to compose themselves. Philza assured him that it was a cool name, and Dream assured him that he still had a chance to change it. He assured both of them he was ok with the name. So, they continued forward for another hour. Then another complication happened. 

"That's a steep drop," George pointed out, peering over the edge of the large hill. It was almost straight down, almost. Tubbo seemed to be eyeing a few of the rocks. 

"Let's get down," Tubbo chirped, then- as if he had done it hundreds of times before- turned and proceeded to scale the cliff, using the rocks and random roots that he deemed sturdy enough. Philza watched with worry, looking to Dream, and Techno.

"I'll be at the bottom to catch him if he falls," Dream assured, looking to George, who nodded understandingly. He grabbed Dream and Sapnap and looked to the ground, and they disappeared and reappeared in a matter of seconds. When Tubbo was close enough to the ground, he pushed off the cliff and landed in Dream's arms with a grin. 

"Come on, Tommy!" Tubbo called up to the blond. 

"You want me to do what you just did?" Tommy asked, disbelief evident in his voice. "Well, sorry! Not all of us can look at something and know how to do it in three seconds!"

"Aw, come on! If you fall, Dream'll catch you!" Tubbo offered. Dream nodded in agreement. 

"I can teleport up there and bring you down if you're too scared," George offered, leaning against a tree. "You'll just have to give me a second; I'm disoriented."

"Scared?" Tommy scoffed. "I'm not scared, just give me a second." Tommy turned back to the three who remained with him. 

"Tommy, if you're worried, I can fly you down after I fly Wilbur," Philza offered with a reassuring smile. Tommy opened his mouth, ready to accept, but figured he couldn't. 

"I just gotta jump, right?" he asked, looking back over the edge. Techno hummed in agreement. 

"And we have people with literal superpowers to help you if you fall," Wilbur pointed out.

"Can't you just," Tommy looked at Wilbur, "Brainwash me to jump?"

"I'm not going to do that, Tommy," Wilbur sighed. "You don't have to do this." 

"Yes, I do! I'm in this group, too!" Tommy pointed out, earning confused stares. "I don't have any ability! If I can't even do this, what can I do?" Tommy glared at the ground, and Philza sighed, approaching the boy. He grabbed his arms, causing Tommy to look up with a frown.

"Look, Tommy. It doesn't change any idea we have of you, whether you can jump off a cliff or not. We already know how brave you are. Ability or not, you're a part of this group, and you don't need a stupid use to be here. We're people, not objects, ok? So, make this decision with your best interest in mind, please?" Tommy looked at Philza with wide eyes but grinned after a few moments. Philza smiled back, patting his arm once more before letting go. He didn't get far before Tommy engulfed him in a hug, tight- quick- desperate even- but a hug nonetheless. 

"Thank you, Philza," Tommy muttered, before pulling back with a grin. It happened quickly; Tommy took a few steps back from the man. On his final step back, his foot connected with a rock, and he lost his balance. And then, he fell. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow long chapter,, oopsie woopsies ,')
> 
> It was fun to write, so I'm not complaining. But,, my sister does want me to explain the reasoning for each power, so here I go:
> 
> Techno; He's very pvp oriented, and a power that made him stronger, more agile and versatile, and durable seemed to fit him.  
> Wilbur; He makes those videos where he's watching over 100 players and demanding things, and he's very manipulative. Mind control made sense. We love our manipulative crime boy.  
> Philza; Ofc he gets wings, what else? Elytra pog  
> Tommy: useless lil orphan boy go weep. I am no inniter (unless?)  
> Tubbo: He's so stupid. He's so dumb and stupid, but boy oh boy is he smart. Like how can he be that brainless, but know how to code hole in the wall in a few hours. Smh i love this dumb idiot genius.  
> Dream: Clairvoyance. It's pretty obvious why. Have u seen his big brain moves? He's always one step ahead,, like,, he knows..... Uhhhooohhh does he know oh frivhck  
> Sapnap: He like,, animal, have u seen Geofry <\- spelled right I swear,, and he love animal and he all buddy buddy with em, and he wouldn't kill those baby animals in the shared body thing. Besides, fire is too basic, and I ain't going to go off of a shirt for a power. Smh,, but don't get me wrong. I love stinky lil flame sapnap  
> George: Teleport bc when he panic he flee,, and scream and cry and pee his pant, u know how it goes. Sister wants me to clarify bc that was my opinion: She says in the assassin videos (Spoiler????) he uses enderpearls to win. Also we didn't want to do a sound or color based power bc I'm a bully, but she isn't. she took pity like a coward.
> 
> Anyways,, I hope you could understand all of that ,'))
> 
> I appreciate you all reading my story :)) it means a lot to me <3 I hope you understood everything in this chapter, and if not please ask!! I wasn't able to get my other beta reader this time, so the one who read it was the one who had planned it,, so I won't know if it's too confusing or not.
> 
> Anyway,, thank you all so much for reading! I love you all, stay safe, and have an amazing morning/afternoon/evening/night!! (day ig if u wanna b basic) (jk ily)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every family fights a battle.

Tommy felt gravity take effect, and let out a small breath. 

There was a slight pain in his back, which confused him. After all, he hadn't even crashed onto the ground yet, though, he was sure that pain was coming. He didn't want to look down; he didn't want to hear the shocked shouts of his friends. He reached up on instinct, for something, anything. 

He half expected a secret power within him to awaken, to save him. Sadly, nothing happened. His hands brushed something soft then he felt a tight grip on his wrist. His eyes focused back in on the winged-boy above him, holding him up. "Tommy," Philza breathed, eyes wide as his other hand grasped over the other. 

"Hi," Tommy whispered, willing himself not to look down. He could hear other voices, but they blurred together. 

"Can I ask you a favor?" Philza asked nervously, confusing Tommy. 

"I think I have to listen to you right now," Tommy laughed, neck tired from staring up at him.

"You know how you imitate a bird by moving your arms up and down?" Philza asked. Tommy nodded with a confused stare. "Do that, but don't move your arms. Just think about it." Tommy did as instructed, his confusion never fading, but the relief that flooded Philza's face reassured him. 

"I don't get it," Tommy muttered as he felt Philza's grip loosen, but he didn't fall. Instead, he just remained. 

"Just keep looking at me, ok?" Philza requested, slowly lowering down to his level. Tommy blinked in confusion and looked back, but the second he did, he fell once more. Philza was quick to keep him up.

"I have wings!" Tommy cried out, looking back at Philza, who nodded. 

"Yes, I know!" Philza laughed, grabbing his arm tightly once more. "I need you to use them!"

"How?" Tommy huffed, "I've never flown before!"

"You did a second ago; you just have to think about it!" Philza explained, and Tommy tried to repeat his previous thought process. Philza's grip loosened once more, but Tommy squeezed his wrist to keep him from moving. 

"Don't let go," Tommy pleaded, and Philza nodded. He slowly lowered towards the ground, pulling Tommy along with him. When he reached the ground, he let out a small gasp of relief. 

"What the hell?" Tommy asked, looking to Philza, who shrugged. 

"I have no fucking idea," Philza laughed nervously. Distantly, a small thud was heard from Techno dropping down with Wilbur in his arms. 

"Tommy!" Tubbo cried as he hurried forward. "Are you ok?"

"Tubbo, do I look ok?" Tommy asked with a glare. "I just flew! Of course I'm ok!" Tommy's glare quickly melted away with a big grin, making Tubbo laugh. 

"You have an ability!" Tubbo cheered, holding out a hand for him to high five. Tommy quickly returned it but paused at Tubbo's frown. "Ah, they're gone."

"What? Tubbo! You made my wings disappear!" Tommy complained, glaring at Tubbo. "Give them back!"

"I'm sorry," Tubbo apologized, spinning around. "I can't find them!"

"Tommy," Dream interrupted. "You have an ability? Is it the same as Philza's?" The two looked to the blond, who slowly shook his head. 

"I don't think so," he muttered. "My wings don't disappear unless I make them. Though, they do immediately appear in life-threatening situations to save me. Besides- Tommy, can you turn around." Tommy did as told, spinning around, his back now exposed with two large gashes in the fabric. "He doesn't have scars where they appear from," Philza explained. In a small moment, his wings folded back and disappeared. He pointed at his jumpsuit, actually modified for his wings, and in the two gaps were jagged scars that ran down his back.

"So, it's not the same as yours," Dream muttered. "Is it a different version of a preexisting power?"

"Hey, Tommy," Techno called as he walked over. "List Newton's Laws of Motion-."

"What the hell! This isn't school; I don't know!" Tommy complained, and Techno sighed.

"Think about it, really hard."

"First, objects in motion stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. Second, force equals mass times acceleration. Third, every action has an equal and opposite reaction," Tommy recited, before blinking. "How did I know that?" It seemed to click with Dream.

"Oh." Dream looked to Techno, who nodded in agreement. "Oh. I get it."

"I don't!" Tommy huffed. "What?"

"You can copy powers. I think. Unless you really do know Newton's Laws and had that knowledge tucked away in your mind," Techno explained, but Tommy shook his head. "If not, I think you copied Tubbo's power, and you copied Philza's power earlier."

"If that's true," Tommy challenged, "why is it just happening now?"

"Maybe you just awoke it?" Techno shrugged. 

"Or maybe," Dream mused, "you always had it. You haven't really been in contact with many people with powers, I'm assuming. And even now, you haven't really touched anyone skin to skin that you know how to use their power. Even with Philza's power, your body had to act on instinct for you to use it."

"You've never interacted with someone with a physical power," Wilbur clarified. "So, you wouldn't know if you copied someone's power or not."

"So, I actually have a power?" Tommy asked, looking at his hands with an uncertain expression. Techno sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you do. Sorr-."

"That's so cool!" Tommy looked to Tubbo excitedly, watching Tubbo's concern melt away to delight.

"Yeah!" Tubbo cheered, nodding enthusiastically. "Your power is so cool!"

"I know!" Tommy boasted, looking over to Philza. "Can you teach me how to fly?" he asked excitedly, rushing over and grabbing his hand excitedly.

"Sure," Philza hummed, nodding in agreement. "I'm sure we can take a small break and have some fun, right?" No one dared to protest, so Phil just smiled and pulled Tommy to the side.

"We should really keep moving," Techno pointed out to Dream, who shrugged as he sat down in the field of grass.

"You go tell him that, but I don't think he'll be too happy with someone preventing father-son bonding time," Dream explained with a grin. Techno looked back over to the two, Tommy now sporting a pair of white wings, and grunted. He didn't care to be the mood killer. 

"Well, while they're doing that, why don't we do something?" Sapnap offered, and George tilted his head, taking his seat between him and Dream. Techno sat next to Wilbur, who pat the grass next to him for Tubbo to sit.

"Like what?" George asked, and Sapnap's grin grew wide.

"Truth or dare!" 

"No," Dream protested. "You make truth or dare become life or death, no way in hell!"

"Chicken," Sapnap groaned, flipping Dream off. 

"Wanna bet? Let's play manhunt," Dream grinned back, and Sapnap quickly shook his head. 

"Fuck you," Sapnap hissed. "You gave me scars!"

"It was an accident," Dream replied unapologetically, a poorly concealed smirk playing on his lips. 

"Aw, I'm Dweam! I didn't mean to throw a branch at my friend, who was chasing me through the woods! Even though he was doing so for a game! Sowwy!" Sapnap complained as Dream wheezed, collapsing on George, who was also laughing. 

"Oh! I have an idea," Tubbo piped up, raising his hand. 

"What do you got, Tubbo?" Wilbur asked, looking at the boy.

"How about we play Never Have I Ever? You hold up a hand and say something you've never done. If someone has done it, they put a finger down."

"Alright," Dream hummed, holding a hand. Sapnap quickly followed, then George. Wilbur held up his hand and looked to Techno with a huff. 

"You're playing," Wilbur demanded, grabbing his wrist and holding up his hand. "Who's starting?"

"I will!" Sapnap quickly said. "Never have I ever failed a class in school."

Tubbo put a finger down, which earned him a few stares. "Tubbo, you're super smart. You can literally use your power," Wilbur pointed out. 

"But that's cheating," Tubbo said with a shrug. "Studying is really hard, though."

"Never have I ever had a pet," George quickly changed the subject, and Techno's finger went down. 

"Really?" Tubbo asked excitedly. Techno nodded.

"Kind of, I had a pig in a nearby farm I'd visit a lot. I was acquaintances with the owner's son. They said I could have it, but they'd hold onto it, so I guess it counts," Techno explained. Dream laughed, making him tilt his head in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing, I just wasn't expecting that." Dream smiled reassuringly. "It's cool! What was its name?"

"Uh," Techno looked down, avoiding eye contact. "Floof."

"Pigs aren't floofy," Tubbo muttered, and Techno shrugged. 

"It was for an element of surprise."

"I honestly can't say I'm surprised," Dream laughed, grinning at Techno, who smiled back. "Never have I ever broken a bone."

Techno lost another finger, so did George and Sapnap. No one bothered to explain. 

"Oh, never have I ever been adopted," Techno hummed before the group erupted into protests.

"That's not fair," Sapnap groaned.

"You had a chance to run away too; if you did, maybe you'd be winning," Techno teased, smirking when Sapnap flipped him off. 

"No targeted attacks," Tubbo added.

"It wasn't a targeted attack, it was a strategic one. It literally got everyone but me."

"Alright," Wilbur called. "Never have I ever gotten in a fistfight."

Everyone's hand went down, and the group looked to Tubbo with a surprised gaze. Tubbo shrugged. 

"It was necessary," Tubbo muttered, sparing a glance to Tommy, who was holding on to Philza's arm as he steadied himself in the air. 

"Yeah," Dream agreed. "I'm sure it was." 

"Look, Tubbo!" Tommy cheered excitedly, clumsily flying over. "I'm getting the hang of it!"

"You're so cool, Tommy," Tubbo agreed, going to high five him but pausing. "Oh no, no high fives. That is a bad idea," Tubbo recited in a monotonous voice.

"Yes, dear friend Tubbo. That is a bad idea, and you are a bitch for thinking of it," Tommy mimicked in the same tone before the two burst out into small fits of laughter. "What are you playing?"

"Never have I ever," Sapnap replied, watching a grin stretch across Tommy's face.

"Never have I ever been a bitch boy," Tommy joined in, laughing harder as Tubbo put his finger down. "Wilbur, Dream, and Sapnap, put your finger down. You are all bitch boys."

"Wanna try that again, Tommy?" Wilbur asked, a sickeningly smile on his face. Tommy held his hands up in surrender.

"Dream and Sapnap, put your finger down; you two are bitch boys. Wilbur, you are oh so cool and manly and strong. Please put a finger up, you're just that cool," Tommy huffed in defeat. Wilbur laughed and nodded.

"I know-."

"Tommy," Sapnap called, catching the boy's attention. Sapnap held up his middle finger and grinned. "Bitch boy."

"What the fuck!" Tommy shouted, flipping Sapnap off as the boy wheezed. "Fucking put all of your fingers down; you are just that much of a bitch boy, bitch boy! I can't believe this, can you believe this Tubbo-."

"I cannot, Tommy Innit!"

"Tommy, language-."

"You and your bastard friend are so incredibly weak and tremble beneath my manliness and piss yourselves at how cool I am."

"Tommy," Wilbur huffed.

"I apologize, Wilbur," Tommy groaned.

"You said you were going over here to brag to Tubbo, not to start a fight," Philza called as he flew down, landing and pulling Tommy down with him. "You'll wear yourself out," he hummed when Tommy protested. 

"Hello," Techno waved at Philza, who waved back. "What'd you see?"

"Huh?" Phil asked with a surprised look, before grinning. "Nothing gets past you, hm?"

"I'm observant," Techno muttered. 

"What are you two talking about?" Dream asked, earning both boy's attention. 

"I flew up while Tommy was talking to you all, and I saw a town, little way that way. Maybe we could get supplies or rest there," Philza explained, beaming at Techno. 

"We won't be able to stay there," Dream pointed out. "I'm sure the lab has a ton of surveillance in the towns surrounding it. So we'll only be able to send a couple of people for supplies. Any volunteers?"

"I'll go," Tubbo offered, but Dream shook his head.

"I need you to get food; you'll be able to distinguish poisonous from safe. Would you mind going with Tubbo, Philza? You seem protective enough to keep him from danger, and you can find your way back easily." Philza laughed and nodded.

"Sure, just me and you, Turbo," Philza hummed. Tubbo grinned at him and nodded.

"Yes, Father Philza, just you and I," Tubbo agreed, making Tommy and Philza laugh.

"Techno, can you go get wood and logs for tonight's fire? You did a pretty good job yesterday," Dream requested, and Techno nodded.

"Oh! I want to go with Techno. I am oh so strong and manly. I can help," Tommy pointed out, and Dream looked to Techno, who shrugged. 

"Sure, Tommy. You can go with Techno." Dream turned to Wilbur. "Can you go to town? I'll send Sapnap with you, so you don't get lost." Wilbur gave Dream a thumbs up.

"Wow, so you're replacing me with George," Sapnap scoffed. "You've been trying to get rid of me since last night at the lab."

"Definitely, absolutely. There is no way to describe how much I want to run away with George and leave you behind," Dream laughed.

"I knew it. George, I could love you better. Don't elope with Dream, please," Sapnap pleaded, making Dream wheeze.

"Oh no, how could I ever choose- Dream," George grinned at Sapnap's frown.

"What the hell! Don't choose so fast," Sapnap cried, glaring at Dream as he fell to the ground in laughter. "Dream! Shut up!"

"Is this flirting?" Tubbo whispered to Tommy. Tommy nodded with a disgusted look.

"Anyway," Tommy called, "let's go, Techno." Tommy hurried over to Techno's side and began towards the woods.

"Ok," Techno agreed. He picked himself up and followed the boy into the wood. The two walked in silence until Tommy broke it.

"So," he asked in a calmer voice than he had heard with the group. "How's the outdoors?"

"It's ok," Techno replied blandly. "Familiar," he added after a moment.

"I was going to run away, too," Tommy blurted out. 

"It's harder than it looks," Techno replied, slightly caught off guard. "More dangerous, more lonely. I don't mind the lonely part, but you seem like you would."

"Maybe," Tommy smiled. "Being in the orphanage for nine years is harder than it looks." Techno looked to the boy and nodded.

"Yeah, I couldn't even do it. You're pretty brave," Techno complimented, making Tommy nod slowly. 

"I don't know," he hummed. It was silent for a few more moments. "I like this group," he looked to Techno. "Do you?" Techno paused, blinking at the question.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I haven't had a group in a while; it's new." Tommy nodded with a frown. "But new doesn't mean bad," Techno added at his look, noticing Tommy's lips quirk up, but otherwise, he remained quiet. 

"Are you ok?" Techno asked after a while. Tommy looked at him with a confused stare. 

"Yeah, why?" Techno didn't plan this far ahead. He wasn't good at this. 

"You're quiet."

"Do you want me to be loud?" Tommy asked with a small grin.

"No," Techno quickly shook his head. "I was just worried you were upset."

"No," Tommy said after a moment. There was another pause. "You killed someone," he pointed out. Techno paused for a moment, looking at Tommy, then shook his head.

"No, I didn't."

"I mean, I get it. It was self-defense-."

"Tommy, you don't know what you're talking about," Techno quickly said, not daring to look at the boy as he sped up. 

"Yes, I do. In the orphanage," Tommy interjected, "there was that older kid. He was a bully; he was messing with you-."

"Tommy," Techno warned.

"So, of course, you were going to fight back, and you accidentally punched him too hard, into the wall," Tommy defended.

"Tommy, please," Techno shouted as he turned around, panicked eyes scanning over Tommy's surprised face. He sighed and looked down, picking a stick up at his feet. "We need to collect wood."

"And he died." The branch snapped in Techno's hand. "Sorry," Tommy quickly muttered.

"I should've been more careful," he whispered. "I should be more careful," Techno muttered, looking to Tommy. "I was going to leave this morning." 

"What? No, that's stupid. Good thing you realized and didn't." Tommy stared at Techno as if he were analyzing him. 

"Tommy, I'm not safe," Techno muttered, grabbing another stick and handing it to Tommy. "I don't do groups."

"Well, now you have to," Tommy said stubbornly. Techno shook his head, handing him a few more sticks. 

"I can't," he stressed. Tommy seemed to catch on to what he was thinking and dropped the wood. 

"No way!" Tommy huffed, running forward and grabbing Techno's sleeved arm tightly. 

"Tommy, let go. Just-," he looked down at the boy, who glared up at him with sad, confused eyes. "Please, go back to Dream with the wood. Tell him I'm collecting a little more wood, so he doesn't come after me, and just forget about me."

"Techno, you can't just leave! Everyone likes you-," Tommy said quickly, his other hand gripped tightly on the back of Techno's jumper. 

"I'm pretty sure only you liked me," Techno mused with a small smile, patting the boy's head. 

"Liked? I still like you, idiot! You're not fucking dead or leaving. And everyone likes you."

"Tommy, please," Techno said in a small voice. "You barely know me-."

"Techno!" Tommy shouted, "This is one of the best things that's happened to me in years, and I'm not letting you ruin it!"

"All the more reason for me to leave!" Techno argued back. "I'll only end up repeating mistakes."

"You leaving would ruin it!" Tommy countered, glaring up at the man with a deep frown. "You won't hurt us if you stay, trust me," he said a little quieter. "But if you leave-. Techno, please, stay. I've looked up to you for so long."

"Why? I'm not great; I'm not even good. There's no reason to want me around-," Techno paused at Tommy's teary eyes.

"You got out. And I always wanted to get out, adoption, running away, anything, but I wasn't brave enough. And now I'm out, with a group that I really like, and if you leave, that'll ruin everything I've ever wanted."

"Have you thought about what I want?" Techno hissed, frowning as Tommy's face remained a glare, but a few tears dripped down his cheeks. 

"What do you want, Techno?"

"I want-," Techno paused. He knew what he wanted, but it wasn't right. Still, the boy looked up to him with determined eyes. "I don't want to be on my own anymore," he whispered. Tommy's angry face sunk into one of confusion, but partial relief. "But I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Then don't," Tommy said, "it's that easy." Techno stared at him before breaking out into a small chuckle. He patted Tommy's head then shoved him off with a smirk.

"That simple, huh?" he asked as he walked over and picked up the wood. "You're pretty convincing," Techno murmured, looking back at Tommy, who beamed. "If I stay, you can't tell anyone about this- or about the incident."

"Promise," Tommy nodded. 

"And the second I hurt anyone, or anyone gets hurt because of me, I'm leaving." Tommy seemed a little more hesitant to agree but nodded.

"Alright, Techno."

.

"He sent us to town to get supplies," Sapnap groaned, "but didn't realize we have no fucking money." Wilbur laughed. 

"Don't worry," Wilbur hummed as he gazed over a clothing store. "I'm pretty persuasive."

"Oh?" Sapnap followed behind Wilbur as he walked towards the store. "Are you going to provide for me, Wilbur?" Sapnap asked with a wink.

"Am I the sugar daddy?" Wilbur asked as he pushed open the door.

"As long as I can be the baby girl," Sapnap replied with a laugh. Wilbur nodded in agreement and looked around.

"Who do you want to shop for?"

"What? Are my clothes not cute enough for you?"

"Horrid, in fact, try harder," Wilbur ordered. "I think I could make Techno into a model, do you want Dream and George?"

"Oh absolutely," Sapnap grinned.

"Ok, change of plans. You're going to make bad decisions, and as much as I love bad decisions, I don't want my eyes to bleed! Thanks! So, let's go together." Sapnap shrugged innocently, and the two made their way through the aisles. 

"Do we have a budget?" Sapnap asked as he dug through the hangers of shirts. 

"Nope, don't worry about it," Wilbur hummed, grabbing a yellow sweater and a red beanie. He grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and looked over to Sapnap. 

"How's this?" Sapnap asked, holding a large white teeshirt and black hoodie up. Wilbur blinked and nodded with a small smile.

"Wow, I had no clue that you had a little bit of style," he joked, earning a condescending 'ha ha.'

Wilbur continued searching the shelves. Sadly, he had no clue what style Techno liked. Wilbur grabbed a white shirt with a red hoodie and black track pants. He had a feeling Techno valued mobility and comfort over fashion.

Tommy needed new clothes, something that could remain intact with wings. He grabbed a red hoodie with a white center and a white tee shirt. After grabbing a pair of pants, he glanced over to Sapnap. 

Sapnap had a similar hoodie to Tommy's, but instead of the red, it was a soft green. He also had a white face mask, which Wilbur stared at curiously.

"Dream likes how they look," Sapnap hummed. "Whose is that?"

"Tommy's," Wilbur said with a matching grin to Sapnap's. 

"They're gonna match." Wilbur nodded. 

"What color do you think George would like?" Sapnap asked.

"What's his favorite color?" Wilbur asked, not expecting Sapnap to know. 

"Blue-," Wilbur glanced at him.

"Then why did you feel the need to ask?" Sapnap just laughed and turned away. 

"Fair point." Wilbur picked Philza out a similar outfit to Tommy's, but instead of a hoodie, he had a dark gray blazer. He also picked him out a green tank top and a matching dark gray pair of sweatpants.

"How's this for Tubbo?" Sapnap called out, and Philza turned around. In his hand, he held a white long sleeve button up, and a green sweater on top, and a matching green scarf. Wilbur found it fitting and nodded. He noticed the other outfit he had for George was similar, but he instead had a blue sweater without the undershirt.

"Do we have everything?" Wilbur asked as Sapnap looked at the price tags. Wilbur paused and gazed at a red and white hat that looked similar to Tommy's shirt and grabbed it. "Don't worry about the cost." Sapnap made a noise of uncertainty but hurried over as Wilbur approached the counter. 

"Is that all?" the lady questioned, and Wilbur nodded with a bright smile. 

"Yes, ma'am. My friend and I are new here, it's nice to meet you," he hummed, holding out a hand. The lady took it with a confused smile. "I'm going to need you to pay for us, and then forget the last hour. Thanks!"

The lady didn't respond, her gaze distant as she continued ringing them up. "Isn't that illegal?" Sapnap asked a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No, this kind lady wanted to help the two new kids," Wilbur hummed. "I'm sure other places wouldn't mind doing the same, right?" Sapnap grinned and nodded.

"Oh, absolutely. What a nice town!" Sapnap chirped with a laugh.

.

"Tubbo, do you like sweet or sour more?" Philza asked as he looked at two different berries, one red, one black. 

"Sweet," Tubbo hummed with a smile. "The black one is poisonous; it has green thorns at the top where it connects to the stem."

"The red is ok?" Philza asked, receiving a nod. He grabbed one and tossed it into his mouth, humming. "These are good!" Tubbo quickly grabbed one and bit into it, but spat it out.

"It's sour," he complained.

"I like sour," Philza laughed, smiling at Tubbo's frown. "Sorry, Tubbo."

"It's ok!" Tubbo hummed, smiling back as he pushed himself back up. 

"Tubbo," he looked over to the boy, who stared back. "You ok?"

Tubbo blinked, smile faltering momentarily. "I think so," he said with a small nod. "Are you?"

"No," Philza admitted. "I'm really tired of this, and I miss my old life, but I am happy I'm not going through this alone. I've got others to lean on," he smiled at Tubbo, who looked away shyly. 

"I," Tubbo sighed. "I miss my old life, too. I think Tommy's upset about me getting adopted, but he won't talk about it with me. He's avoiding the topic any time I mention it," Tubbo complained, sinking to the ground with a frown and shoving his knees to his chest. Philza frowned and walked over, sitting beside him.

"He'll talk about it one day," Philza assured. "For now, it's probably best you just be the best friend you can be now. I can tell he thinks pretty highly of you."

"He calls me stupid," Tubbo muttered, and Philza nodded. 

"Do you mind that?"

"No," Tubbo shook his head. "But I don't think he thinks highly of me."

"I disagree," Philza hummed. "Your name came up a lot when we were practicing flying. He talked about you almost every other sentence, but don't tell him I told you."

"He did?" Tubbo asked, looking at Philza curiously. Philza nodded, and Tubbo looked down with a shameful sigh. "Well, now I feel stupid for thinking he didn't like me anymore," he muttered.

"Tubbo, Tommy thinks of you like a brother. I can tell, it's pretty cute. I don't think he could ever dislike you." Tubbo sat in silence as he picked a few berries from a bush and ate them. The two stayed there for a while before Philza hummed. "Hey, look, a bee." Tubbo's head shot up in excitement as the little insect fluttered past. 

"Oh, boy! I love bees," Tubbo said, eyes following the stripped bug. 

"Tommy said so," Philza laughed. Tubbo smiled lightly and nodded.

"Tommy used to say wasps were cooler then he got stung by one. He still stands by that point, but now he doesn't reach for one whenever it flies by," Tubbo commented, causing Philza to laugh harder. 

The two sat in silence once more, picking as many berries as they could. "Hey, Phil," Tubbo called. 

"Hm?"

"I'm sure your family and friends miss you, too. But I'm happy you escaped with us."

"I'm happy I escaped with you guys, too, Tubbo." 

.

"We have lookout," Dream hummed, grinning at George. 

"You gave us the easiest job," George pointed out, and Dream scoffed.

"Whoa, go ahead and downplay our hard work. Not rude at all," Dream accused, shaking his head. George just shrugged.

"I'm not complaining."

"We can claim we fought off hundreds of soldiers," Dream offered, and George grinned.

"Where'd their bodies go?"

"They died," Dream replied nonchalantly. 

"Where'd their bodies go?" George repeated, and Dream grinned.

"Back to the Earth. I'm all-powerful, Gogy; I can do anything."

"Anything?" George asked curiously, and Dream nodded in confirmation. "Prove it."

"By?"

"Never calling me Gogy again, what does that even mean?" Dream wheezed.

"It's your nickname. Do you not like it, Gogy?"

"No," George didn't bother to hide his smile.

"Gogy!" Dream shouted suddenly, making George shriek and jump. 

"What the hell, Dream?" George asked, turning to the man, who fell into fits of laughter. 

"You-," hre took a deep breath, "your shoes are untied; I can tie them for you if you want?" Dream offered with a grin. George took off his sneaker and threw it at Dream's head; the boy dodged it.

"Wow, look at that. You made me lose my shoe; this is unbelievable, Dream," George huffed as he stood on one foot. "Go get it for me." 

"What? You threw it!"

"And you have shoes on," George pointed out, sticking his tongue out as Dream gave in and turned slowly to go get it. "Hurry up." George looked over at a tree branch once Dream was no longer looking at him, and in a blink, he was seated on the wood, watching from afar. Dream grabbed the shoe and spun around, waving it tauntingly, but paused when he saw George had vanished. 

"George?" He called, looking around. George teleported higher into the tree. "You don't want to play this game with me, George," Dream warned with a grin. George begged to differ. Dream ran into the woods in front of him with a manic laugh, making George slightly nervous. 

He hid pretty well, though, and he wanted to see that stupid grin wiped off of the blond's face, he wanted to win. He sat there for a while, and Dream showed no sign of showing. He was getting bored. 

He sighed, resting his head in his hands and yawning. "Oh George," a voice sang in his ear, making him scream and fall forward. A hand reached out to catch him, and though it wrapped around his wrist, he had already teleported to the nearest open patch he could see to save himself.

He shakily collapsed to the floor, disoriented as he laid on the ground and tried to stop the faint feeling rushing over him. He heard someone talking beside him and opened his eyes. Dream peered down at him worriedly, saying something, and George just groaned.

"You suck," he managed to say, sighing.

"Did you kill George, Dream?" Philza asked as he flew over. Tubbo was on his back with a plethora of different plants and even some fish. 

"Yeah," Dream hummed, waving his hand to try and cool George off. "I was trying to return his shoe."

"Liar," George grunted. "It was a planned assassination. He pushed me off of a tree."

"Did he?" Philza asked, quirking a brow. 

"No, he fell off of a tree! He ran from me when I was trying to help get the shoe that he threw at me!" Dream defended. 

"I wouldn't have if you didn't scare me!" George argued back. 

"I-."

"Ok!" Phil intervened, "Dream, apologize."

"I'm sorry I scared you."

"George, your turn."

"What?" George cried, but grunted at Philza's sharp gaze. "Sorry for throwing my shoe at you and hiding."

"Good! Now, where's Techno and-."

"Tommy!" Tubbo cried, waving at the boy, who flew over.

"Tubbo, Philza! Look, I'm getting better," Tommy bragged with a wide grin.

"That's great! But did you leave Techno to carry everything?" Philza asked, looking over to Techno, whose hands were full of sticks and logs that stacked over his head. Tommy flushed and hurried back to grab some wood from the struggling man. They hurried over to the middle and started working on a fire.

"Looks like we're late!" Sapnap called from the edge of the forest, bags weighing down his arms as Wilbur strolled beside him with a few more bags. The two sported their previously bought attire.

"Wilbur! Sapnap! You got new clothes!" Tubbo called, waving at them while struggling to hold on to the food. Dream frowned as he watched the two approach. 

"Where'd you get all that stuff?"

"The store," Sapnap said blankly, dumping out supplies and opening the bag for the food to be put in. "Tommy! Come here," he waved the boy over, who was warming his hands by the fire. Tommy hurried over, Techno following suit.

"We got you some clothes too," Wilbur handed the folded bundles out and grinned. "Sorry if they're too small or not your style." He looked to Techno, who gave him a thumbs up. 

"I think it's fine," Techno said, hurrying off into the woods to change. Tommy copied Techno, then Tubbo, then Philza and George. Dream just stared at them.

"What, you don't like it?" Wilbur asked with a confused frown. 

"You stole!" Dream hissed, frown deepening.

"What's the problem?" Wilbur asked, and Dream scoffed. 

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that it's illegal, and we don't need to live by breaking laws."

"Oh!" Wilbur gasped, blinking in surprise. "We don't need clothes and basic survival tools? I had no clue; I'll return them!" Wilbur chirped with a toothy, fake grin. "Let me go tell Tommy that he has to go back to his ratty, old, prison jumper because Dream doesn't think he needs it-." Dream grabbed his arm as he turned, stopping him.

"I didn't say that, stop twisting my words!" he hissed with a glare. 

"Oh, right," Wilbur glared back, yanking his arm from his grip. "You said that we didn't need to live by breaking laws! How else were we going to get Tommy clothes, Dream? We don't exactly have mon-."

"Clothing stores get rid of the items that they don't sell- there are donation areas for clothes, that wouldn't be stealing!" Dream pointed out, throwing his hands up. 

"Whoops! Must've forgotten to look through the dumpster; I was too busy focusing on the stares I was getting for my outfit. Guess they've never heard of fashion, huh Dream?"

"I guess not! Obviously, you know, with your well-needed beanie, a major necessity, you do!" Dream felt an arm tug him back as he stepped closer. "And your basic survival tools look more like you’re stocking a kitchen!"

  
  


"Dream, chill out!" Sapnap said, stepping in front of him as he advanced towards Wilbur. 

"Shut up, Nick- Sapnap, whatever!" Dream huffed, glaring at him. 

"What's truly wrong, Dream? It can't just be your stupid morals," Wilbur said with narrowed, analyzing eyes. "So?" Dream's glare met his eyes. 

"You dragged my friend along with you, Wilbur. If you get caught, that's your own fault. But if you get him taken down with you- I've already let myself get caught in order to break him out one time, I don't want to do it again!"

"Oh! You don't want the extra work! Should've known, my bad, Dream! Well, good news, I'm competent enough not to get caught!" Wilbur clapped, watching Dream attempt to advance towards him, but getting restrained by a grip on his arm.

"Let go! I'm not going to fucking fight him," Dream hissed, turning and glaring at George, who shook his head.

"Dream, you need to calm down," George pointed out. Dream scoffed, pulling his arm free and approaching Wilbur, finger into his chest. 

"You're going to get us thrown back into that lab, and then when I get us out again-."

"What?"

"Ah- Tommy! You should try this fruit I found; I think you'd like it!" Tubbo said from behind Dream, tugging at the blond kid's arm.

"What?" Tommy repeated, looking at the two with furrowed brows. "Why are you two fighting? I thought we were all friends?"

"Sorry, Tommy! It looks like Dream here didn't want you to have new clothes, just old, free ones. Oh! And he wanted us to eat raw meat because skewers aren't a necessity!" Wilbur hummed with a small smile.

"Sorry, Tommy," Dream said through grit teeth, not looking to the boy. "Wilbur thought it was an amazing idea to try and involve you in this! He doesn't seem to realize what a dick move that is," Dream countered.

"Or maybe," Wilbur grinned, leaning towards Dream with a snarl, "he doesn't care!"

"Break it up!" Philza shouted as he hurried over, shoving the two back. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Dream takes my attempts to secure safety and a little bit of normalcy in our escapes as personal attacks," Wilbur hissed out. Dream laughed in shock. 

"Oh yeah! And Wilbur thinks it's right to use his power for his own gain, out in the open, where anyone could see! Thereby increasing suspicion of others and the threat of being caught!" Dream argued back.

"I was fucking careful!" Wilbur pointed out. "I literally tricked their mind into forgetting us-!"

"And anyone else who saw you?" Dream asked. "Oh, wow, they just walked out without paying! They're so inconspicuous."

"Shut up!" Philza huffed, watching the two boys shut their mouths. He looked over to Techno, who stood behind Tubbo and Tommy with a frown, and gestured to the boys. Techno seemed to understand and put a hand on their shoulders.

"Come on, let's go hang out at the fire. We can talk about, uh, stuff," Techno muttered. 

"Yeah, ok," Tubbo solemnly nodded.

"This fucking sucks," Tommy whispered, glancing between the two. 

"Still one of the best things that's happened to you?" Techno asked bitterly, and Tommy huffed out a laugh. He nodded.

"Yeah," he answered honestly, "yeah."

"Am I one of the best things?" Tubbo asked as they proceeded towards the fire. 

"You have such poor timing," Tommy laughed, but he nodded. "Yeah, Tubbo."

"Thanks, Tommy."

Philza looked from the retreating boys to the two watching them go. "Can you two get over yourselves?" Philza asked. "It's been a day."

"But-." 

"No, Wilbur. No buts," Philza snapped, Wilbur quickly shut his mouth. "Damn it, we're a team, ok? We aren't always going to agree with each other, but the thing that makes us a team is that we can look past each other's pet peeves and flaws."

"So, stealing to help survive is a flaw?" Wilbur asked. Philza's eyes narrowed on him. 

"Did I say that? No, I said that our actions upset one another, but being able to look past and move on is what makes us a team," Philza corrected. "Stop taking advice as personal attacks." Wilbur nodded.

"Dream," he looked to the silent boy, who's brows were drawn together in anger. "Wilbur didn't mean to upset you; he just made the judgment he thought was best in his mind for our circumstance." He turned to Wilbur, who bit his lip to keep his mouth shut. "Wilbur, Dream was merely concerned. He doesn't want any of us in prison again, and I can understand that. So, can you two get over this and make-up?"

Dream's glare lessened, but he turned and walked briskly into the woods, Sapnap watching with a sigh. "Don't mind him," he said with a weak smile. "He likes to take time to cool off before apologizing."

"Better be a damn good apology-," Wilbur looked at Philza, sighing at the frown. 

"Please don't make this difficult, Wil," Philza asked, before walking away. Sapnap and George glanced at Wilbur, who stood there confused, then hurried to catch up to Philza. 

.

Dream came back by the time the fish finished cooking, wearing his new outfit. He looked to Wilbur, who sat next to Techno, and approached him, rubbing his neck as he looked to the side. "I-."

"Sorry about having to steal," Wilbur quickly interjected. "I just thought it was the best option."

"I know," Dream nodded, blinking. "I'm sorry, too," he added after a moment. "I just- I was worried about having to deal with the police chasing us, too, and morals and everything." Wilbur nodded with a small smirk, holding out a hand.

"Truce?" Dream laughed, shaking it with a nod. 

"I think you're supposed to say 'friends,'" Dream pointed out. 

"Buy me dinner first," Wilbur said with a wink. 

"What restaurant?"

"I like pizza," Wilbur shrugged. There was some movement in the corner of Dream's eye, and he glanced over to see Tommy and Tubbo whispering.

"Deal," Dream grinned with a nod. He walked over to the two kids, gazing down at them. "What're you whispering about?"

"Dream," Tubbo stared up at him. "We'll accept you, no matter who you like!" Dream and Tommy laughed loudly, and Dream nodded.

"Alright, Tubbo. Thanks," he hummed, looking down at Tommy's similar hoodie. "Hey, look, we have the same design."

"Yes, but mine is better because it is red. Red is powerful."

"Oh, I don't know. I'm pretty powerful, so, me wearing green makes it powerful through osmosis."

"That word is fake, and you are a bitch," Tommy corrected. Dream grinned and whacked his head. 

"Sure I am, where's Sapnap and George?"

"Setting up the tents," Philza hummed, handing him a plate of fish. Dream nodded gratefully and set it down.

"Tubbo, don't let Tommy eat my food. I'll be right back," Dream looked to Tommy, who rolled his eyes as Tubbo gave him a thumbs up. Dream nodded with a grin and hurried towards the two bickering by the tents.

"How did you do it inside out?" George asked with an annoyed huff. "You're so stupid."

"You were the one reading the instructions to me!" Sapnap pointed out. "You're the dumb one!"

"Ladies, you're both pretty," Dream cooed as he approached, laughing at the glares he received. 

"Done with your baby tantrum?" Sapnap asked, lips quirking up in amusement. Dream rolled his eyes and nodded. 

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that," Dream muttered. George grinned.

"I'll forgive you if you tell Sapnap he's the stupid one."

"Sapnap, you're an absolute idiot," Dream stated, laughing at the other's scoff. "How does someone even mess up on building a tent?"

"Shut up," Sapnap groaned, flipping him off. "All of this bad-mouthing, after I got you a gift and everything."

"A gift?" Dream hummed, tilting his head curiously at Sapnap. Sapnap tossed him a white piece of cloth. "A mask! You know me so- what's this?"

"A smile," Sapnap grinned. 

"Why is it so poorly drawn?"

"Shut up! I tried my best," Sapnap frowned, and Dream nodded. 

"No, it's nice. Thanks, Sapnap."

"Don't worry about it," Sapnap chirped before looking over to George as he laughed. "What?"

"You should be worried about Tommy; he's got your food, Dream."

"Little shit-."

.

Dream peeled his eyes open, blinking as he adjusted to the light. The tent was slightly unzipped, allowing the glare of the sun inside. He laid there for a moment before a spike of anxiety shot through him. He was up later than usual.

He rushed out of the tent, ignoring Sapnap's whine of protest as he stumbled over him. He peered out into the sunlight, squinting as he tried to take in his surroundings. He hurried over to the next tent over, ripping it open as he peered inside. Techno was gone. 

He let out a string of curses, glaring at the ground as a wave of defeat crashed over him. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked over to the fire to see who was awake. There sat Techno and Wilbur, chatting about who knows what as Philza, Tubbo, and George cooked some breakfast of sorts. He sighed, a small smile on his lips as he watched Techno grin as Wilbur laughed. 

Maybe he didn't need to worry so much. 

Philza waved at Dream, so with a small yawn, Dream made his way over. "Good morning," Phil greeted, which he acknowledged with a nod. "Can you go get Sapnap and Tommy up? Food’s done," Philza asked Tubbo, who nodded eagerly and hurried off.

"What's up?" Dream asked, tilting his head.

"Techno says we need to eat and pack our bags. Wilbur figured out where to go to get to the orphanage. We don't want to waste time."

"Alright," Dream nodded. "I can go ahead and start packing."

"Sounds great! Are," Dream looked to Philza, who glanced between the two. "Are you and Wilbur good now?" Dream paused, glancing at the boy. He nodded firmly.

"Yeah, I think we are."

"That's good, that's good," he repeated with a sigh of relief. 

"We'll try not to give you too many gray hairs, Philza. But no promises," Dream waved, hurrying off to pack up some bags. After all, today is a big day.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, how's it goin'? I took thirty years on this update, I'm sorry ,'((. These chapters are increasingly getting longer, and that's wild,, so I hope that's ok. There's only six chapters, so the chapters are kinda bound to be long. 
> 
> OH BOY THEY WERE GOIN AT IT IN THIS CHAPTER. ONE FIGHT AFTER ANOTHER, A LIL POW HERE AND A BOOM THERE!! SPARKS FLYING!! BUT OUT OF RAGE Not LOVE. ALSO!! If you ship anything, that's a-ok! This isn't really a shipping book, but you're allowed to interpret however, I was just trying to match their personalities to my writing. So if ur like, oh boy that was gay, so be it!! if ur like, oh boy, I love their friendship, pog! cool! Do that! I'm just not going to outwardly push relationships, so I hope you understand :))
> 
> NOW TIME FOR THE REAL BUISNESS. I tricked you allll, I bet u were all like "oh Sub!! Tommy doesn't have a power??? Poor child!!" FOOLISH. OF COURSE HE HAS A POWER, SILLy. Here's why we gave him power copying or,, heh, mimicking,, "He takes inspiration from other people around him and learns from them, and I think that's cool"- my silly sister. "HE COPIES HAHA" - me :))
> 
> Anyways, I think that's all that needs to be explained :)) Thank you all for reading!!
> 
> Stay safe, I love you all, and have an amazing morning/afternoon/evening/night!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Artifacts from the past can seem more distant than they truly are.

Tommy's eyes traveled from plant to animal, trying to find something. Anything would do; he just needed to choose. Tubbo stared at him expectantly, and he knew he had to hurry.

"I-," he bit his lip. "I spy something green." Tubbo quickly looks around, and the game began.

"The trees."

"Nope," Tommy said, shaking his head.

"Grass?" Another no. "Leaves?" Tommy grins; Tubbo was never going to get it. 

Tommy raised a finger, wiggling it back and forth. "No, I'm not that predictable, Tu-."

"Is it Tubbo's scarf?" Dream asked from behind him, and Tommy's hand fell.

"N-no," he quickly looked around for something else, but Sapnap caught his lie and laughed.

"It totally was!"

"Shut up!" Tommy huffed, sticking a tongue out at Sapnap. 

"Not my fault you suck at this!" Sapnap grinned, and Tommy scoffed, a proud smile finding its way on his face. 

"I suck at nothing, Sapnap," Tommy explained, Tubbo nodded in agreement.

"Yes, true. Tommy only sucks at math-."

"Nothing, Tubbo," Tommy corrected, and Tubbo blinked before nodding.

"Oh, yes, Tommy. Nothing," Tubbo quickly nodded, waiting for Tommy to look away from him. "Except math," Tommy quickly looked back with a shocked look. 

"Tubbo! You're supposed to agree with me!" Tommy scoffed. Tubbo frowned. 

"I am?"

"Yes, I say I am cool, and you agree and give me your undevoted attention." Tommy's glare sharpened on Tubbo as their gaze met. 

"Oh, Tommy, you are so great and cool and powerful. I worship the very ground you walk on," Tubbo exasperatedly recited, their eyes unmoving. Tubbo blinked, and a grin broke out across his face, matching Tommy's, who was laughing loudly.

"You are so stupid and dumb, Tubbo," Tommy laughed, Tubbo nodded in agreement.

"And bad at math."

"Oh yes, you are so bad at math," Tommy agreed. Philza sighed in relief from behind them, leaning against Techno for support.

"I thought we were going to have another argument," he admitted nervously. "And this one was going to be a really stupid one." Techno nodded in agreement. 

"This just seems to be the way Tommy and Tubbo interact," Wilbur hummed in amusement. 

"Kids these days," George groaned. The rest of the group shared a murmur of agreement. Tommy and Tubbo looked at each other with a confused stare, but Tubbo shrugged, and the conversation was over. It was a few minutes before anyone spoke again. 

"I spy with my little eye-."

"Why is your eye little?" Techno asked, and Tommy blinked. 

"I spy with my big eye-."

"That's weird; your eye is big?" George asked, grinning as Tommy glared at him. 

"I spy with my average, cool, manly eye- no, shut up- something black and yellow," Tommy hummed, and Tubbo lit up.

"Oh my God, it's a bee. Where?" he asked, looking around quickly. Tommy laughed loudly and shook his head.

"There wasn't one. I just wanted to see how you'd react," Tommy explained, and Tubbo frowned.

"Tommy, you are a bitch," he huffed, and a chorus of laughter erupted from the group. Sapnap walked between the two, slinging an arm over their shoulders and grinning. 

"We're all friends here," he chirped. "Let's deal with our anger the right way." Tommy looked at him expectantly, and a devious grin stretched across Sapnap’s face. "You two should battle."

"Yes!" Tommy cheered, but Philza was quick to say no. Tommy whined at the blond who kept shutting down every request for a fight. Soon, Sapnap joined in on the pleading. Philza looked over to Techno for assistance, but Techno just shrugged and smiled.

"I'd love to see two orphans fight," Techno explained, and Philza laughed and shook his head. 

"Sapnap, stop being a bad influence," George scolded. Sapnap rolled his eyes and looked to George.

"Oh, Gogy! You are so right; I am such a bad person!" George scoffed and glared at Dream for the nickname, then looked back to Sapnap.

"Why're you saying it so sarcastically? Literally everything in that sentence is factual," George pointed out, and Sapnap blinked. 

"Your mom's factual."

"That doesn't make sense!" George scoffed, and Sapnap laughed loudly with Dream. Techno cleared his throat, and the group looked over to him expectantly.

"I spy an orphanage," he said flatly, and Dream peered up ahead through the foliage and hummed in agreement.

"It looks abandoned," Dream pointed out, and Sapnap grinned.

"What if it's haunted?" Sapnap whispered to George, who smacked him away.

"It's not," Tommy quickly added. "Everyone's probably in class."

"Ew," Tubbo stuck his tongue out in disgust. "I'm so happy I got out of their stupid lessons when I got adopted. Right?" He looked to Tommy, who nodded. 

"I don't miss school," he agreed, before blinking in realization. "Tubbo! We don't need to go to school anymore!"

"We're on the run!" Tubbo agreed with a cheer.

"Uh, no. You're still getting an education, no matter how long we're running around," Philza huffed, watching the two boy's shoulders sag in defeat.

"That's boring," Tommy groaned, Tubbo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, complain about the struggles of schooling later. For now, let's review while it's still empty out here. I don't want kids to report strange men in the woods and have an unnecessary reunion with any of the workers," Dream explained, and Tommy nodded knowingly.

"Yes, I am a man. I agree."

"That- okay. Philza, you said you know the path we walked the night we came to the orphanage?" Dream asked, ignoring Tommy. Philza peered out behind the bushes, and his eyes scanned the area before a hint of recognition spread across his face. 

"Yeah," he nodded. "That one over there. I don't know where it leads, so if it's literally nothing, don't blame me," he laughed. Dream grinned and nodded.

"We'll be on high alert for traps, too. And cliffs, right Tommy?" Tommy stared blankly at Dream, who laughed at his expression.

"That is unfunny." 

"I thought it was pretty funny," Sapnap hummed in amusement. Wilbur nodded. 

"Yeah, whatever. Oi, big man! Lead the way," Tommy ordered, and Philza quirked a brow, but otherwise said nothing. He began down to the direction of the dirt path, the group following closely behind as he led.

.

"There's actually nothing here," Philza muttered in disbelief. The group looked around at their surroundings as they stood near the cliff's base. Techno sighed and leaned against the stone with a sigh.

"Maybe we took a wrong turn. It has been nine years, and the path disappeared awhile ago."

"No, this is the place," Philza replied with such certainty that no one dared question the accuracy of the location again. Wilbur looked around.

"So why'd we come from here?" he asked, looking over to Philza, who shrugged. Tommy examined the overgrown foliage lining the stone of the wall. 

"This place is horribly maintained. In fact, I think we're the only ones who know about this place." Tubbo blinked and hurried over.

"What if we were born here?" Tubbo asked excitedly, and Tommy looked at him with a confused stare. Everybody looked at Tubbo with a confused stare.

"What?" George dared to ask, and Tubbo smiled sheepishly. 

"Like," Tubbo leaned against the leaves. "What if we emerged from the-." Tubbo fell through the vines, and the loud thud echoed down a newly-revealed cave. Tommy rushed in after his friend, pulling him up to his feet with a worried expression. "I'm okay," Tubbo quickly assured. 

The group gathered around, examining the large, gray-painted door that the foliage had disguised. The door shielded away a gaping cavern that led through the mountain, and with a shared nod, the group ventured down into the unknown. 

Techno took the lead, cracking his knuckles as he looked around. There was a blinding light at the end of the tunnel, and as they continued further, he realized it was sunlight. George teleported forward, despite Sapnap's shout of objection and paused. A small "whoa," echoed through the cave. 

Dream sprinted forward, then Sapnap, and then the rest of them followed. They all came to a stop at the opening, eyes blinking to the unadjusted light.

"It's a..." Dream trailed off.

"Village?" George offered. 

"Deserted," Techno gruffly added, looking around. Around the ruins of the large village were surrounding woods that were cut short by a wall of mountains, keeping the land concealed. 

"Where is everyone?" Tubbo asked in a small voice, and Tommy shifted. Philza smiled and patted their shoulders. 

"Don't know. Probably moved out, this place looks ancient," Philza hummed. "How about we explore?" He looked back at Dream, who nodded in agreement. 

"I think it's safe enough, but we should go in pairs. I'd say trios, but there's only eight of us," Dream explained.

"Me and Tubbo will go off to the left," Tommy said with a grin, and Dream looked as though he was going to agree, but stopped. 

"No," he shook his head, and Tommy's grin fell.

"No?"

"Sorry, Tommy. But these buildings look old. If they fall on one of you, you won't be able to help the other out," Dream reasoned, and Tommy huffed with a frown. "Sorry."

"Yeah, whatever," Tommy kicked a rock at his foot, and Philza patted him on the shoulder. 

"Hey, how about we go together? I'll let you practice flying while we're at it," Philza offered, and Tommy grinned up to the man. 

"Deal," he nodded. He looked over to Tubbo with a small frown. "Sorry, Tubbo."

"Don't be," Dream hummed, slinging an arm around the smaller boy. "I'm cooler than you, so he'll have a blast hanging out with me." Tommy scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

"No," Tommy answered plainly. "I am cool and awesome, and Tubbo hates you."

"No, I don't." Tommy looked to Tubbo, and Tubbo sighed. "Tommy is cool and awesome, and I hate the green man beside me."

"See?"

"Blink twice if you need help," Sapnap called from behind Tommy, and Tubbo blinked three times. "Oh no, it's bad."

"Shut up," Tommy laughed, grinning widely. The others smiled brightly.

"Well, if Dream's got Tubbo, then I get Gogy!" Sapnap hummed, leaning on the other, who sighed. 

"And that leaves you and me, Technoblade," Wilbur hummed. Techno smiled at the brunet and nodded, and the group looked at each other. "We want North," Techno quickly stated, pointing at the large building up ahead.

"I want to go left," Tommy hummed, and Philza nodded in agreement.

"We want this area," Sapnap looked to George.

"We do?"

"Yeah, I don't want to walk," George explained, and Sapnap grinned.

"Ah, yes. So we do."

"Then I guess we're going right, Tubbo," Dream hummed, smiling at the boy, who grinned back. 

"We'll meet up here in a few hours," Philza hummed as Tommy pulled him away, waving goodbye to the group. Techno looked to Wilbur, an unspoken request on his tongue, but Wilbur seemed to understand. The two hurried off towards the tallest building. Tubbo turned to look at Dream but found him gone.

"He was just here!" Tubbo cried before looking to Sapnap and George. "Did you see which way he went?"

"Who went?" Sapnap asked, confusion flooding his face, and Tubbo tilted his head.

"Dream."

"Dream? Who's that?" Sapnap asked, looking to George, who seemed to catch on, and gazed back equally lost.

"I don't know. Weird name," he pointed out. Tubbo looked like he saw a ghost. He paced back and forth, running a hand through his hair. Sapnap snuck a grin at George, and the two silently disappeared behind a house. Tubbo only took notice of the disappearance of the others a moment later. 

"Oh, no!" He looked around. "Sapnap? George?" He paused, smacking his head. "Wait, what if Sapnap and George aren't real, like Dream?" he gasped. "Or what if I'm not real? What if I'm dead?" He spun around at the noise of approaching footsteps, a wave of relief crashing over him. 

"Tubbo," Dream waved from behind him. "I thought you were following me," he paused.

"Dream! Am I real?"

Dream paused, blinking as he stared down at Tubbo. "Who's Tubbo?" His tone was dead serious, and Tubbo panicked.

"I don't know!" he confessed, throwing his hands up in defeat. Dream laughed and ruffled Tubbo's hair, looking fondly at the boy. 

"You don't know?" Tubbo paused, watching Dream before blinking in realization.

"Oh, I'm Tubbo!" The boy looked to Dream, who nodded. 

"And I'm ready to look around, you coming?" Dream asked, Tubbo quickly hurried to follow the masked man as he moved down the faded path. Dream peeked back to the boy, who fidgeted with the hem of his scarf as they walked. They stayed in comfortable silence for a while, before Dream sighed. 

"What's wrong?" Tubbo asked after a moment, but Dream just shrugged. 

"Nothing, just quiet," he pointed out. Tubbo nodded, his eyes staring holes into Dream's back. Usually, it would make Dream uncomfortable, but he realized he didn't mind. Not much, anyway.

"Tommy's usually the one to talk. I thought you'd be more talkative, honestly." Dream shook his head, looking back to Tubbo, who held eye contact for a moment then looked away. "I guess it's just because you're always messing about with Sapnap and George, but now that I think about it, you are relatively quiet. That's okay, though; I talk a lot, I think." 

Dream nodded with an amused smile and tugged Tubbo over to a shop-looking building. The items inside had a thin layer of dust and debris coating them, and appeared otherwise untouched. Tubbo stood near the entrance, due to Dream's gesture to stay. He didn't trust the building not to collapse, and though Tubbo's smart, Dream would be able to react quicker. Tubbo didn't seem to mind, though.

"Tommy listens to me talk a lot, but if the topics are too educational, he'll zone out. I think he doesn't understand them," Tubbo explained, and Dream laughed.

"Well, I'd assume not. Not everyone is super intelligent," Dream explained, finding nothing of interest in the store. It was on to the next; he pulled Tubbo along. 

"Oh, but this information came from reading, so if he wanted to learn it, he could," Tubbo explained, and Dream nodded understandingly. "Sorry, this conversation is very one-sided."

"I don't mind," Dream hummed, walking into another shop. He grabbed a book and flipped through the pages, frowning. "What language is this, Tubbo?" 

Tubbo took the book from him and peered at it, but frowned and shook his head after a moment. "It's not one I recognize," he explained, handing the book back. Dream stared at him with interest. 

"Do you like puzzles?" he asked with a grin. Tubbo returned the smile and nodded. "I think we've got a new puzzle," he hummed, pocketing the book. Tubbo hurried to his side as he walked out of the store. Dream turned to walk into the next building, but Tubbo quickly stopped him.

"Do you see the floor there? It's decaying; you can tell by the color and look. You'll fall through," Tubbo chirped, grinning. Dream nodded with a small 'thanks,' ushering the boy towards the next building before he could notice anything aside from the floor. He didn't dare question the strange, discolored pool on the ground, or the splatter on the wall that closely resembled old dried blood. He also made a note to clear the area before inviting Tubbo into the shops and houses.

Tubbo seemed none-the-wiser. Dream paused outside of the next house and looked at Tubbo with an unreadable expression, but the brown-eyed boy just stared back with a smile. "How about we take a break and play a game?" he offered, taking a seat on the grass.

"We haven't been going that long," Tubbo pointed out, but he sat down anyway. "What game?" he asked, but Dream didn't think that far ahead. Tubbo seemed to get the message and laid back. "How about we chat?"

"Sure," Dream agreed, reclining into the soft grass as well. "What do you want to do after this dies out?"

"I don't know," Tubbo hummed, fidgeting with his hands. "I wanna go back to a normal life, do you think that'll happen?" Dream didn't know whether he should comfort the boy with a series of white lies or to admit the reality of the situation. He remained silent for too long, and Tubbo sighed. "If not, then I at least hope to stick with you guys."

Dream quirked a brow, "Really? You don't want to go back to your uh- family?"

"I want to," Tubbo quickly assured. "They're really nice, but I don't want to get them involved. It's not what they signed up for when they adopted me." Tubbo trailed off, before opening and closing his mouth a few times, unsure of how to phrase his question. "Do you think of your family as a family?"

Dream was silent for a moment, but he sighed. "Bonds are made through time and experiences. I wouldn't necessarily consider them family."

"So, who is your family?" Tubbo asked, voice laced in uncertainty. But Dream didn't have any hesitation in his answer.

"Sapnap. As I said, bonds are made through quality time and experiences." Tubbo nodded, even though Dream didn't see it. 

"So, Tommy's like family for me?" Tubbo reasoned, and Dream hummed a confirmation.

"If that's how you feel." Tubbo was silent once again for a moment, and Dream closed his eyes, basking in the sunlight.

"Is this an experience?" Tubbo asked warily, and Dream chuckled lightly. 

"Yeah, Tubbo."

.

Sapnap watched with George as Dream and Tubbo walked away. He shared a grin with the other, before pushing off the wall and beginning towards a home. "Wow! You played along."

"What? You thought I wouldn't?" George asked, quirking a brow. Sapnap shrugged, kicking open the door with a bang. George jumped at the noise and glared at Sapnap. "Wow, great entrance! Do you enter everyone's house like that?" 

"Oh, absolutely," Sapnap laughed, walking in and looking around. The room's state was one of disarray and it smelled of mold, but Sapnap didn't mention it. He strolled around the room, eyeing the pictures on the wall. He felt a strange sense of recognition as he stared at a little blonde girl with a white ribbon in her hair, but not enough to dwell on it. "This feels like a weird haunted house," he looked over to George, who was examining the mess of knocked-over, broken furniture.

"We are in a ghost town," George pointed out. Sapnap muttered some sort of agreement, walking into the kitchen and looking through the drawers. "What if the owner just walked in right now?" George mused, Sapnap grinned back at him and held up a butter knife.

"No witnesses, Georgie," he explained, making the other laugh. "Our life of crime is discrete."

"Yeah, until Dream yells at you for killing someone," George huffed. Sapnap gasped, holding the knife out threateningly. 

"Are you threatening to snitch?" George smiled, shrugging as he drew on the dust-covered counter.

"And if I am?"

"George, bitches get stitches," Sapnap explained, placing the butter knife back. 

"Wouldn't it be snitches?"

"I don't know, bitch. Would it?"

"You sound like Tommy," George pointed out. Sapnap looked at him with a disgusted face.

"Wow, you're my least favorite person for saying that. You're rude, George."

"Oh, no," George deadpanned. Sapnap narrowed his eyes at him.

"And you stink."

"Whoa," George frowned. "I don't smell."

"Yeah," Sapnap said bluntly. "You do."

"Well, so do you!" George accused, pushing himself up from where he was leaning on the counter and walking down the hall. "You know, for how old this village looks, the houses are more modern than I thought."

"For how old your mom looks, she's-."

"You’re so bad at roasts," George laughed, shoving Sapnap, who followed behind him. Sapnap shrugged.

"Actually, I'm super good. I just don't need you to go crying to Dream," Sapnap explained as he opened a door. He walked into the room, frowning faintly. "Oh."

"This doesn't look good," George muttered. They stood at the entrance of a child's room. It was a mess. The dresser was toppled over, and the bed was unmade, and sheets and clothes were pooled on the ground. There were toys scattered everywhere, along with broken glass figurines and fallen shelves. There were pools of gray, almost black staining on the floor. 

"Is it blood?" George asked, and Sapnap's deepening frown was the only reply George got. 

Sapnap walked into the room, picking up a white ribbon, the same one that the girl had as a bow in the photo. He tied it around his head, looking back at George. "Can we go down a few streets? I recognized her- I think her name was Shelby." George stared at him in confusion. "She was my neighbor, and well- going into my house- that would be kind of," he trailed off. George just wordlessly nodded as the two walked out of the house. 

"You lived here?" George asked after a few moments of silence. Sapnap nodded and offered him a bitter smile. 

"I think we all did."

"Maybe she got out like us, then," George offered, and Sapnap just nodded. "It's weird seeing you all silent and depressed," George admitted, and Sapnap glanced at him with a small smile.

"Oh, really? Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"No," George huffed. "It's just weird."

"You love me," Sapnap cooed, leaning on the other. George teleported a step ahead, leaving Sapnap to collapse to the ground. "Ow, what the hell? I hate you! You're so rude," Sapnap whined.

"No," George hummed again, a smug smile plastered on his face. 

"I have a boyfriend. He'll beat you up," Sapnap said confidently, grinning at George's curious gaze.

"Is it Dream?"

"Yeah, he just won't admit it," Sapnap nodded. "He'll kick your ass."

"Actually, we got married yesterday."

"What the hell?" Sapnap shouted, pushing himself up with a pout. "He loves me more."

"No," George said simply, and Sapnap grinned.

"Yes."

"How about we go ask him?" George offered, and Sapnap looked around.

"He'll be mad if we don't investigate more."

"Chicken."

"Fine!" Sapnap shouted, throwing his arms up. Sapnap wouldn't admit the relief he felt when he realized he wasn't going to walk into another crime scene.

"Fine!" George copied, and with a turn, the two raced towards where Dream and Tubbo went. 

.

"It's a church?" Wilbur asked as he looked around, his voice echoing off of the giant stone walls. Techno nodded as he walked down the bloodied red carpet. "Do you think they did human sacrifices here?"

"This looks like a lot of sacrifices," Techno commented with a small shrug, and Wilbur nodded in agreement. 

"They don't have any Bibles, aren't churches supposed to have Bibles?" Wilbur asked, and Techno shrugged.

"Do I look like I've been to church?" Wilbur laughed.

"You don't have to go to church to know it's not a bring-your-own-Bible thing," Wilbur explained, and Techno smirked. 

"I don't know-."

"Apparently," Wilbur pointed out. Techno paused, looking down one of the pews with a confused stare. He walked over and grabbed a small badge. "What's that?"

"It's got a symbol on it, but I don't know what it is," Techno showed the badge. It had a small circle on it, and an arrow that wrapped around the front of it. Wilbur shrugged.

"Maybe someone else will know," he offered, and Techno nodded, pocketing the item. He turned back to the altar and hurried back on course, arriving at it rather quickly. There was a small display in front of it, four candles with coins spread across the table, and two chalices in between. What interested Techno the most, however, was the crown sitting in the middle. 

Wilbur peeked over and grabbed the crown. Techno watched him with curious eyes as he looked to Techno with a wide grin. He placed the crown on Techno's head and nodded. "Look, it fits. Now you look the role of a leader."

"I'm not a leader," Techo shook his head, reaching up to take it off, but Wilbur jabbed him. "Ow."

"Did that actually hurt, or are you just saying that?" Wilbur huffed with amusement, fixing the crown once more.

"It kinda hurt-," Techno hesitated, unsure of how much he trusted Wilbur, but he came to a fond conclusion. "Your nails are sharp, and though I absorb blunt force easily, sharp can still cut skin, even if I absorb the energy."

"Huh, okay," Wilbur shrugged, turning around. He wandered over to a door and found the staircases up to the bell tower. "I'm not walking up there. Was this all you wanted to see?"

"It's the only interesting building," Techno explained. Wilbur nodded as he walked back to the boy's side. "Wanna go find Phil and Tommy then? I want to throw rocks at Tommy as he tries to dodge them." Techno laughed and nodded with a small smile. 

"Let's go."

.

Tommy sighed, tapping his knee as he sat and watched Philza. The man had been explaining flight safety for the past fifteen minutes, and Tommy was getting tired. They both agreed to practice flying before exploring, as Tommy would be able to fly away from any danger.

"-and that's why you probably shouldn't fly with birds," Philza explained, and Tommy blinked. "Now, flying when it's stormy-."

Tommy stood up and shook Philza's hand. "This is great and all, Philza, honestly, but," he paused, tapping his chin in thought. "This is all common sense," Tommy explained as he took off his hoodie. Two wings sprout out of his back. Philza grabbed his hand tightly, tilting his head.

"And you apparently have none if you think I'm gonna teach someone who won't listen," he explained. "So put those wings away, and sit back down." Tommy wordlessly nodded and sat down, his wings folding on his back. "Good, so flying when it's stormy-."

"Wow, that sounds boring," Wilbur called as he approached, Tommy lit up. 

"Wilbur! I said that too, but Big P wouldn't listen."

"Maybe because you were disrespectful and interrupted him," Wilbur scolded, whacking Tommy's head. Philza didn't even try to explain the hypocrisy in the statement. He waved at Techno, who waved back.

"You got a crown?" Philza asked curiously, and Techno sighed, nodding. "It looks nice, fits you," he explained. 

"Thanks," Techno nodded appreciatively. He looked over to where Wilbur and Tommy were bickering and bit back a smile. "What were you doing?"

"Explaining the dangers of flight," Philza explained with a small grin. 

"Doesn't he already know the basics?" Techno asked, and Philza nodded. 

"Well, why don't we take him to the next level?" Wilbur offered, and Techno nodded in agreement. 

“The next level?” Tommy asked, looking at Wilbur with concealed excitement. “I’m ready for the next level.”

“What do you think the next level should be?” Philza asked, and Wilbur gestured for him to come closer. He leaned down and whispered in Philza’s ear, and a worried expression quickly replaced his curious one. “What? No.” Tommy looked over to him.

“Come on! Whatever it is, I can take it!” Tommy called out.

“Yeah! He can take it, Philza!” Wilbur agreed, throwing his arm around Philza’s shoulder with a reassuring smile. Philza glanced from Tommy to Wilbur, then to Techno. 

“What do you think, Techno?” Philza asked with a sigh, and Techno shrugged.

“I don’t know what the next level is either,” he pointed out. Wilbur hurried over and whispered in his ear, and Techno bit back a smile. “Yeah, I think it’ll be fine. You’re going to be there to catch him if he falls, and I’ll step in if I have to. What’s the highest you’ve flown, Tommy?”

“About that house,” Tommy replied, pointing at a nearby one-story house. Techno nodded and looked to Philza, who still had a nervous expression.

“I’m not going to let him get hurt, and neither will you,” Techno assured. Phil sighed and nodded. “And if he doesn’t want to do it, he doesn’t have to.”

“Ok-.”

“I don’t know what I wouldn’t want to do, but I want to do it,” Tommy confidently agreed. “Let me go to the next level, Big P!”

“I already said ok!” Philza laughed, smiling as he looked to Wilbur. “Lead the way.”

“Alright, don’t mind the gallons of blood-.”

“What?” Philza asked, and Techno shrugged. 

“Wilbur’s exaggerating.” Philza sighed, and Techno grinned. “It’s more like liters.”

“Blood?” Tommy asked with wide eyes. “That sounds so cool!”

“Tommy,” Philza scolded. “That blood belonged to somebody.”

“Not anymore,” Tommy shrugged. Philza choked back a laugh and tried to appear as angry as he could with a smile plastered on his face.

“Tommy, you should see the bodies we found,” Wilbur said excitedly, and Philza stopped walking.

“No.”

“Philza-, I was joking-,” Wilbur laughed, turning around and tugging on the other’s sleeve. “Come on,” he encouraged, and Philza rolled his eyes and followed Wilbur as they continued.

“Good thing you didn’t tell him about the bones in the cult circle we found,” Techno whispered loudly to Wilbur, who laughed as Philza smacked Techno’s head. “Sorry,” Techno apologized with a small grin, and Philza just grinned back, shaking his head.

“If you aren't lying, you’ll be joining those bodies,” Philza confirmed, and Wilbur and Techno shared a nervous smile.

“So, there's no body, or bones, or blood?” Tommy asked with a disappointed sigh. Techno glanced at him.

“There’s blood,” he assured, and Tommy nodded. He looked up at the church in front of him, then back to Wilbur. “You and I will go up with him, and Philza, you’ll fly around the area for safety measures.”

Tommy looked up to the bell tower with a nervous, excited grin. “Off of that?” Wilbur and Techno nodded in unison, looking at him with eerie smiles.

"Yep. Unless you're too scared, of course," Wilbur teased, and Tommy huffed. 

"I'm not scared of anything, Wilbur. I'm manly and powerful," Tommy claimed, and Wilbur grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the entrance.

"Then you'll be fine." Techno followed after the two, waving at Philza as they disappeared behind the door. Philza sighed and waved back, already beginning to take off his blazer to help his friends.

Wilbur sighed as he leaned against the wall, looking up the stairs with an annoyed glare. "Why'd I agree to come?"

"Moral support," Techno hummed, looking up the stairs. "There are only five steps left, why'd you stop now?"

"Because I've walked more the past three days than I ever have before, and I am dying Techno," Wilbur explained. Techno blinked and nodded, offering a hand, which Wilbur reluctantly took. Techno pulled the boy up the final few steps, then looked to Tommy.

"You've been quiet."

"Oh, I've just been getting- you know, ready," he explained as he looked over the bell tower's edge. 

"Well, are you ready?" Techno asked as he lifted the boy and set him on the ledge. Tommy was quick to grab onto the post near him. 

"No," he admitted, looking back nervously to the two. "This is high up, not that that's a problem, but I just need a second."

"No, Tommy. You're ready," Wilbur claimed, and Tommy stared at him as though he were crazy.

"No, Wilbur," he laughed nervously. "I think I need a moment." Wilbur nodded and walked forward, placing a reassuring hand on his back.

"I hear you, Tommy," Wilbur nodded understandingly. "But, if you don't confront challenges when they arise, they'll only be harder to face in the future." Tommy stared at Wilbur with uncertain eyes but nodded. "So, are you ready?"

"Yes," Tommy claimed, though it sounded unsure. Wilbur sighed. 

"More enthusiasm, Tommy Innit."

"Yes," Tommy said with a nod. 

"I said, are you ready?" Wilbur cheered, and Tommy nodded with a grin, the enthusiasm impacting his mood. 

"Ye- AH!" Wilbur shoved Tommy off. 

Tommy first panicked as he felt the familiar sense of gravity. For some reason, he keeps falling off of high places. The panic faded, however, when he realized he'd survive this fall. He trusted the worried but curious faces peering down at him, as well as Philza, who had guaranteed his safety. 

Most importantly, though, he trusted himself. He knew how to fly, although he wasn't the best by any means, he knew how to fly. He blinked, and in a flurry of feathers, his body jerked to a halt, yanking him upright. His heart was still thundering in his ears, but he looked down and found the ground to no longer be advancing towards him. Philza looked up to him, his flight halted as a grin grew on his face. 

He flew up to Tommy's side and pat his shoulder with a beaming smile. "You did it!"

"I did it!" Tommy repeated with a disbelieving laugh. He flew up, coming face to face with Wilbur. "You're a bitch!" Wilbur laughed and rolled his eyes. 

"I'm a motivator," he shrugged. Tommy grinned, looking over to Techno.

"Did you know he was going to shove me?"

"I had considered some possibilities," Techno replied with a shrug. Tommy blinked. 

"Bitch."

"Sure," Techno shrugged. Tommy and Wilbur laughed at his acceptance, and Techno turned to the stairs. "Come on, Wilbur. We'll need a head start for you."

"Ah, fuck you," Wilbur complained. "Hey, Philza," he greeted the blond who flew up to join them.

"Hey, Wilbur."

"I've got a hypothesis."

"Yeah?" Philza asked with an amused smile. "What's that?"

"You'll catch me," Wilbur said with a carefree grin as he climbed over the bell tower's ledge. Philza's eyes widened as he reached for Wilbur, who jumped off for him. He managed to catch him and glared down as Wilbur grinned up at him. 

"Don't fucking do that!" Philza scolded. "What if I didn't catch you?"

"I'm a man of science," Wilbur hummed, "every action is well calculated."

"I'll drop you right now," Philza threatened with a laugh as he got a better grip on the brunet. When Wilbur only continued to grin at him, Philza sighed in defeat. "I guess your hypothesis was right."

"Oh, no, Philza." Philza gave him a confused stare as he shook his head. "Hypotheses need to be tested multiple times."

"Don't you fucking dare do that again without warning," Philza demanded, and Wilbur nodded with a happy smile. 

"Sure." Techno and Tommy exchanged a glance, and Techno smirked. 

"Wanna try that with me, Tommy?"

"Yeah! Let's do it," Tommy cheered, and Techno shook his head. 

"Too bad, not a chance. You're fourteen; you can't hold a seventeen-year-old," Techno explained as he turned to the stairwell. Tommy made a noise of protest, but Techno ignored it with a wave as he disappeared down the stairs. Tommy huffed as he looked to Philza, who nodded his head towards the ground before descending with Wilbur. 

"Tubbo would do it with me," Tommy muttered to himself as he followed suit. He landed on the grass with a small thud and looked to Philza and Wilbur. Techno came out a minute later, and Tommy hurried over to his side. "Can I try on the crown?"

"No," Techno shook his head, and Tommy huffed. 

"Yeah, Tommy. Techno's our leader, our king if you would. He needs the crown, but you can be something else."

"Oh," Tommy nodded. "What can I be, Mister Soot?"

"Well, I'm obviously the first-in-command, right Techno?"

"Sure."

"So, you can be my partner," Wilbur assured, and Tommy blinked.

"Does that give me power?"

"Yes," Wilbur nodded, and Tommy cheered. 

"What's Philza?" Techno asked, and Philza smiled.

"The dad that has to keep the kids, who are playing pretend, from jumping off buildings," Philza explained, and the four laughed. 

"Or getting pushed off," Tommy added, and Philza gave him a confused stare, while Wilbur jabbed his side. "Ow, nothing. Just speculating," he quickly covered up, smiling nervously at Philza, who nodded. 

"Sure, so what now?"

"We can explore together," Techno offered, and the remaining three nodded at the idea. 

"Sure," Wilbur and the three began off towards a house. The group paused when they realized Tommy wasn't following and turned back to question the blond. He blinked at their confused gazes and waved them off.

"Don't worry about me, I want to go find Tubbo and Dream, and show him how amazing and cool I am with flying," Tommy explained. Philza nodded in understanding, but before Tommy could fly off, he called out his name and caught his attention.

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to walk with you?"

"No. I got this, Philza," Tommy chirped. He gave the group a quick wave and took off. He heard a faint 'stay safe,' and nodded, despite no one seeing it. Truthfully, he wasn't going to see Tubbo. Instead, he wanted to help. He didn't know many ways he could help, but gathering supplies for their camp out was a good start. 

He landed in the nearby woods and began picking up some sticks. There weren't many fruits, and even if there were, he wasn't sure whether or not they were safe. Luckily, they still had quite a bit of food from the night before. As he walked further into the forest, he found a small stream with fish in it. Sadly, he didn't know how to fish or swim, but he has hopes that one of his friends will be able to teach him. 

His hands were full with sticks, but the amount wasn't nearly enough for a fire to last a night. He needed to find a clearing so he could start storing his supplies. He took off once more, but he found an open space rather quickly. It was more near the edge of the town, and it was close enough to the woods for shorter distances between the trips. He set the pile of sticks down and hurried off to gather more. 

The process repeated until he had a decent heap of logs, twigs, and dry leaves and grass. He looked down at the pile with a huff, wiping off the sweat from his head with his arm. The gang will be happy with this. He only then noticed how the sky had begun to darken and looked back at the premade bonfire with an excited smile. 

Techno taught him how to start a fire yesterday! Tommy wandered around and found two rocks that looked similar to the ones Techno used. He walked over to where he had set up the fire and knelt near the leaves. It took a few tries, but eventually, a small spark caught onto the dry plant, and a small blaze arose. It spread to another leaf and slowly began to build in size, but it hadn't grown as large as it was yesterday. 

What was he doing wrong? He tapped his chin with thought, exhaling lightly. It pushed the flame, and Tommy noticed how it increased slightly. Techno explained why air fed the fire yesterday, but the lesson turned to white noise for Tommy, which is most likely why he forgot. He blew on the flame, cheering himself on as it rose. Tommy paused and smacked his head. 

"I'm a genius," Tommy muttered, looking to his wings. He turned around, and with a strong gust from his wings, the fire grew. Tommy turned back with a cheer, his face lighting up at his creation. Everyone would thank him and say he did amazing. He paused as another light caught his attention. 

He looked up, and his heart sank.

.

"Oh, hey! You guys found each other!" Philza chirped as he waved at Dream and the other three who approached them. Dream nodded with a sigh.

"They couldn't even last an hour alone," Dream explained with a laugh, pulling down his mask and grinning. Sapnap shrugged, a lazy grin on his face.

"Not my fault George is literally a kid." George scoffed.

"I'm the kid? You're-."

"Shut up," Sapnap cut him off, and George rolled his eyes. 

"You're proving my poi-."

"Shh."

"You got a crown," Dream pointed out, and Techno nodded. 

"It was oh-so kindly gifted to me. Sapnap's got a ribbon."

"Does it make me look cute?" Sapnap batted his eyes, and Techno quickly shook his head. "I think it makes me look cute," Sapnap huffed, and Dream laughed. 

"Did you guys find anything?" Wilbur asked. Dream nodded and opened his mouth to reply, but Tubbo interrupted.

"Hey, where's Tommy?" Dream frowned. 

"He was with Philza. Did you lose him?"

"Oh, no," Tubbo muttered. "I'll help find him." Tubbo began to walk off, but Philza quickly stopped him

"We didn't lose him," Philza explained, and Tubbo nodded with a relieved smile. 

"Good! So, where is he?"

"He said he was going to find you to show you how cool he was with his flying,” Techno explained. Tubbo nodded slowly in understanding.

"So, he must be flying around looking for me," Tubbo murmured, looking up to the sky. 

"He said that an hour ago," Techno admitted. Dream grimaced, looking back to Sapnap and George, who held a worried gaze.

"He never made it to us, was he flying?" Philza nodded. "Then he should've found us in the hour." Dream looked around and noticed Tubbo's pale face. "Hey, don't worry. We'll find him," Dream assured, but Tubbo shook his head. 

"I-," Tubbo swallowed nervously. "I think I found him," he explained, pointing to the cloud of smoke and light erupting from a little further off over distant houses.

"Shit," Techno hissed. 

Techno took off in a sprint in the direction, followed immediately by Tubbo and Philza, who managed to grab Wilbur in the process, as he held out his hands. Dream, George, and Sapnap shared a nervous gaze, and the three took off right after them. 

.

Tommy stared up at the burning building with a growing pit in his stomach, and he let a nervous laugh escape his throat. Uh oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS TOOK A WHILE. School is attacking,, left. right. center. they broke my nose and spat in my eye, but I won't be defeated. Two more chapters. WE NEED MORE BONDING. I AM HERE TO MAKE THIS FAMILY A FAMILY. and how do I do that? burning houses :)
> 
> I can't think of much to say in these notes, not gonna lie. This took five days to write bc I'm so bad at time management. I tried writing these notes once but it came out to be a literal mess of words. I started weeping and crying at the mere state of my writing. 
> 
> BRO MY GRAMMARLY STARTED BEING REALLY LAME AND FAKE AND IT MESSED UP SO IF THIS SUCKS A LITTLE BIT IM SORRY. My sister tried to save it, but she gets too caught up in reading the chapter and forgets to correct sometimes. u know. like a loser. who tf reads??? 
> 
> Anyway!! Tysm for reading!! I hope you liked the chapter.
> 
> Stay safe. I love you all, and have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night/ void??????????


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fires are put out, but new ones arise.

"Okay," Tommy laughed out, looking around nervously. "This isn't bad; this is fixable." He hurried in the direction of a house. There had to be some bowl or pot he could fill with water. He pushed open the door- with some struggle as there was a sofa blocking the entrance- and navigated through the messy rooms. He searched through the cabinets and grabbed the largest pot he could find. It's only been three minutes, so if he puts out the fire quick enough, maybe no one will notice. He just needed to fill it with water, and- the sink has water. He spun around and yanked up the knob, relief flooding through him as the water- albeit brown- shot out. 

After the first filled, he grabbed another pot and shoved it under the faucet before rushing out the door and taking off. He dumped the water on the fire, coughing at the backlash of smoke that rose in his face. His arm went to cover his burning eyes as he hurried to the ground. He turned to hurry, back into the kitchen, but a voice stopped him.

"Tommy!" He spun around, gripping the pot tighter as he watched Techno, Philza, Wilbur, and Tubbo running closer in the distance. Oh, so they did notice. Oh well, if he fixed his mistakes, they won't be angry. He spun on his heels and ran back into the house, despite their shouts. 

By the time he grabbed the second pot full of water and replaced the large pot under the sink, Techno was stood in the doorway, panting as he stared at Tommy. "I need through," Tommy explained as he pushed past, the water splashing over onto him. He didn't mind; it was a nice contrast to the burning heat that surrounded him. Techno followed him out. 

"Tommy-."

"I know," Tommy huffed, jumping off the ground to take off. He dumped another pot of water and choked on the rising smoke, tears building in his burning eyes. Tommy thinks it was because of the smoke- Tommy hopes it was because of the smoke. He looked over and noticed Philza was keeping the fire contained in their location through controlled gusts of wind. He landed with a thump and hurried past Wilbur and Tubbo, who was calling to get his attention. Techno was at the door with the other pot of water, handing it to him. 

"Tommy." He looked at Techno as he took the pot. He was going to yell at him. Tommy was getting ready to take off once more. "What can we do to help?" But he faltered.

"What?" he asked as he looked back to Techno, who watched him expectantly. "It's my problem."

"And we're gonna talk about that, but first we're going to fix it," Wilbur explained as he hurried over. He grabbed the empty pot and handed it to Tubbo, who rushed inside. "Dream, any ideas?"

"Yeah," Dream nodded as he appeared from nowhere behind Tommy; George had a hand on his and Sapnap's shoulder and a pale face. Tommy took off to go dump out the water, then hurried back, taking the next pot from Tubbo and looking to the new three expectantly. "The water still works, so we need to go to other houses and get pots and bowls filled. There may also be water hoses out, so we can work from the ground," Dream explained. Techno nodded in agreement and hurried off to another house. "Also, the bathtub may fill the pots faster than the sink."

"True!" Tubbo gasped, before hurrying off with the empty pot. Tommy hurried off as well, shouting a greeting to Philza as he flew over the fire. Philza greeted him with a small wave, briefly taking his eyes off the blaze, but hurrying back to continue his job. Dream and Sapnap were below him, a water hose in hand as George stood aside, turning the knob. Techno waved him down to get a bucket of water. 

They didn't seem that mad, and that worried Tommy. He coughed as gusts of smoke filled his lungs, and swerved out of the gray clouds. He ignored the blazing heat and flew down to retrieve another bucket. He looked over to Philza, who rubbed his burning eyes and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He took the water and flew up to the male, before dumping the water on him.

"Ah, what the hell-" Philza cried, looking up to Tommy, who stared back worriedly. Phil sighed and shook the water out of his hair before laughing and nodding to Tommy. "Thanks for the shower," he waved. "I was getting a little hot."

"And you smelled terrible," Tommy joked over the roaring fire beneath them, he left with a small smile at Philza's laughter. Surprisingly the fire was dying down. He grabbed the bucket from Wilbur, whose calculating stare followed him. Wilbur seemed mad, but he wasn't sure. 

He flew up and dumped it over, noticing how gray his hands were. Maybe he needed the shower. The next bucket was from Techno. His pattern consisted of switching between getting buckets from Wilbur and Tubbo, to the next house, which Techno handled. Dream, George, and Sapnap were on hose duty, and Philza was in charge of containment. Slowly but surely, with their combined efforts, the fire dissipated. 

That's not to say there wasn't damage done. Tommy looked up at the roofless building; the chared, decaying walls looked ready to collapse with a single breath. The inside was an unrecognizable black pit.

Tommy landed with shaky legs, looking up to the dimly lit building. It was night, and the only light sources were the moon and the smaller, more contained fire Tommy had managed to create before the disaster. Tubbo hurried over and grabbed his arm to steady him, and Tommy felt the sore wings on his back disappear.

"Sorry," Tubbo quickly apologized when he noticed the wings fade. Tommy just shrugged with a small smile.

"Thanks, Tubbo," he hummed, looking to the boy, then back to the building. "Someone's not going to be happy their home burned down."

"It wasn't a house," Tubbo explained, and Tommy stared at him with confusion as the others walked over. They looked tired.

"What do you mean it wasn't a house?" Tommy asked.

"The street sign," Tubbo explained, pointing to a small post. "That street is Oak Wood Way, and the building right there is- was the library." 

"That was the library?" Dream hissed in disbelief, Tommy took a small step back. 

"I didn't know," Tommy explained, and Dream ran a hand through his hair. "Why does it matter?"

"Oh, I don't know," Dream threw his hands up. "Maybe because it was our whole purpose for coming here?"

"It was?" Tommy asked, once again laughing nervously. 

"Yes, Tommy," George explained, setting a hand on Dream's shoulder. "We came here to figure out why we have powers and more about them."

"And you burned down any bit of information we could get!"

"I didn't mean to," Tommy argued back. Dream's sharp glare shut him up.

"That doesn't matter. We lost so much just because you were incompetent enough to- what were you even doing?" Tommy blinked and shifted on his heels, trying to bite back a laugh. He had horrible timing when it came to reactions to stress.

"Haha," he looked over to the fire. "I just thought I'd prove how manly I was and start a fire. Then you all could realize how amazing and strong I am." Tommy isn't good at explaining things. He knows this, but humor is a go-to defense mechanism for him. It's gotten him out of plenty of issues. 

"Tommy, what the hell?" Sapnap asked, and Tommy took a step back once more. 

Sadly, it wouldn't get him out of this one. He took another step back and bumped into Wilbur, who glanced down at him with the same calculating eyes as before. "Hey, Wilbur," he muttered as he looked back at the glares surrounding him. 

"Hey, Tommy," Wilbur hummed with a lighter tone than he had expected. "Did you get hurt at all?"

"Huh?" Tommy asked, his gaze returning to Wilbur. He looked back to his gray hands and arms, examining them. "No, I'm fine."

"Good. Dream, did you get hurt?"

"No," the man answered clearly. 

"Sapnap? George?" The duo shook their head. "Philza?"

"Nah, just tired. Haven't flown that long for a while," Philza explained with a small smile. 

"Techno? Tubbo?"

"I'm okay!" Tubbo answered quickly.

"All good."

"Good!" Wilbur pat Tommy on his shoulder. "Dream, did you have something in that building?" Dream rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah. Answers." Wilbur narrowed his gaze, glancing back at the building. 

"Did you personally have something in the building, Dream?" Dream held his glare.

"Yes, Wilbur. Answers."

"Oh, fucking hell, Dream," Wilbur complained, throwing his hands up. "Do you have anything better to do aside from yell at a fourteen-year-old who already understands what he's done is bad?"

"Bad? Wilbur, these books could have saved us. We could have answers to why people are following us or understandings of our powers. Maybe even understandings of what happened here," Dream explained, and Tommy looked back to the library. "I'm oh so sorry that I'm upset that our days-long journey has been for nothing."

"Dream," Wilbur huffed. "He was only trying to help-."

"He thinks this is a joke!" Sapnap explained. 

"He's nervous," Techno pointed out, and Wilbur nodded.

"I would be too if I had a pissed guy yelling at me for an honest mistake."

"Am I not allowed to be upset, Wilbur? Is that it? Oh, my bad," Dream apologized fakely, looking over to Sapnap, who shrugged. 

"No, but Tommy is a kid-," Philza explained but paused at Dream and Tommy's stare. 

"He's not!" Dream stated. "He's claimed time and time again he isn't a kid."

"I'm not a kid," Tommy agreed quietly. Wilbur sighed. 

"Dream, how do you know there were books inside?" he interrupted before Dream could say anything. Dream faltered at the question.

"What?"

"In the church that Techno and I explored, there were zero books. Who's to say the library had books? I haven't seen a single book here."

"I have," Dream explained, holding up the small book he and Tubbo had found prior. "So, who's to say that it didn't have books?"

"Oh, look at that. You have a book; you can stop being all pissy now!" Wilbur chirped, and Dream's eyes narrowed. 

"Oh, yeah. This small, random book that we found in a fucking shop has all the answers we need! Thank god!" Tommy's growing tired of the arguing. 

"Have you even looked to see if it has anything useful?" Wilbur argued back; Dream barked out a laugh.

"I can't exactly do that; it's in another fucking language! And our possibilities at learning the language just went up in flames!"

"Okay!" Tommy shouted, shutting the two up. "I was just trying to make a fire for us before it got cold. I learned yesterday that air helps it grow, but I guess I had too much wind. It's my fault, okay? I'm sorry," Tommy waited in the silence for something, but there was nothing. He hated the silence almost as much as he hated the arguing. He turned to the forest and began off, but Wilbur quickly grabbed his wrist. 

"Wait, Tommy-," both Dream and Wilbur called, but Tommy yanked his hand free and ran into the woods, his eyes burning. Stupid smoke. Tubbo watched him shrink with worried eyes before he quickly ran after him, and the two disappeared behind the trees.

Tommy slowed in the middle of the woods, collapsing to the grass with a tired huff as he hugged his knees to his chest. He tried to ignore the slowing steps behind him but eventually looked back with teary eyes. "What?" he asked, watching Tubbo walk over and sit beside him. 

"Did you know that bees beat their wings eleven thousand times per second?" Tubbo hummed, looking at Tommy with a grin. Tommy rolled his eyes. 

"Why would I know that?" Tommy asked with a small sigh, Tubbo shrugged.

"I knew it."

"You know literally everything," Tommy pointed out, and Tubbo shrugged again. 

"Maybe, maybe not," Tubbo hummed, looking up to the sky. "That constellation is the-."

"Lyra," Tommy interrupted. "You've told me."

"I know," Tubbo hummed. "I just didn't know if you remembered." Tommy looked at him with a small smile.

"I remember." The two sat in silence for a few minutes, looking up to the sky. 

"Did you actually get adopted? On the first night, you said you left, then you said you got adopted," Tubbo asked, the confusion evident in his voice. He was hesitant to ask, however, and Tommy just continued staring at the sky in silence. 

"I got adopted," he confirmed after a moment.

"When?" The silence lasted longer this time, but Tommy still answered.

"The day I got taken to the lab."

"That's unlucky," Tubbo looked at Tommy, who had a frown on his face. "What're the chances-."

"Tubbo, you're so stupid," Tommy muttered, glancing at the boy with angered eyes. "Can we not talk about it?" Tubbo silently nodded.

"I haven't been to the orphanage in a couple of years," Tubbo pointed out, Tommy nodded sharply. 

"I know."

"How's everyone doing?"

"I don't know. Everyone's either stopped talking to me or got adopted," Tommy explained, and Tubbo glanced at him.

"Really? That sucks." Tommy didn't reply. "Do you still play the piano?"

"A kid sat on it and broke it last December," Tommy explained in a flat tone, frown growing more. Tubbo decided to drop it.

"School starts soon; maybe after all of this, you can go back to your foster family and-."

"I don't want to go back to them," Tommy hissed out in frustration, pushing himself up and glaring at Tubbo. Tubbo pushed himself to his feet in alarm.

"Are they mean? Or bad? Or-."

"They aren't parents!"

"Well- you haven't had much time to give them a chance," Tubbo explained. "Not that that's your fault! Just, my parents turned out to be really nice- so, maybe yours will be the same."

"Tubbo, my life isn't like yours," Tommy argued back. "Not everything is sunshine and daisies!"

"That's not what my life is-," Tubbo tried to counter, but Tommy didn't listen.

"I don't get to be liked like you are, or wanted. There's a reason I was never fucking adopted for nine years!"

"You got adopted, though!-"

"There's a reason I keep screwing everything up and getting into trouble-!"

"Tommy-." Tommy's eyes were watery as he glared at Tubbo, who stared back with a hurt gaze.

"There's a reason you never came back, or- or visited after you promised you'd be back- because best friends never leave," he quoted with a sharp glare. "It's the same reason no one talked to me after you left."

"Tommy-!" Tubbo glanced behind Tommy, his face white and eyes wide, but the boy wasn't finished ranting, despite his watery eyes and heaving chest.

"It's because I'm a fucking problem child! A mistake, and I can't do anything right!" Tommy shouted, turning his back to Tubbo.

"Tommy, we need-."

"I couldn't even get adopted right! Do you know why I got adopted? Not because I was wanted- no, you know what? It was because I was wanted. Two lab workers adopted me, and I was so excited and-."

"Tommy!" Tubbo shouted, grabbing Tommy's shoulder tightly. Tommy slapped his hand away and spun around, glaring coldly at Tubbo. Tubbo stared back with a blank gaze. 

"Just go away!" Tommy demanded, and surprisingly, Tubbo spun on his heel and began in the opposite direction of Tommy. For some reason, it hurt more to see him walk away. Tommy watched him fade into the trees, clenching his shaking hands before sinking to the ground and shoving his head into his knees. 

There was a moment of silence, but after a minute, Tommy heard footsteps approach. "Oh, so now you come-." He lifted his head, eyes meeting unfamiliar eyes. "You're not- ah!" Tommy shouted as hands grabbed him from behind, and the man pulled out a syringe full of strange white liquid. Tommy tried to wiggle out of the grip, breath quickening. He cried outright as the needle plunged into his neck. 

"Techno!" 

Techno looked to Wilbur with a confused stare, wordlessly asking if he heard the shout. Wilbur merely shrugged. Philza sat over by Dream, talking in a hushed tone. It had been twenty minutes since Tommy and Tubbo had rushed into the woods, but Philza refused to let anyone follow the two. Philza sent Wilbur and Techno to go cool off and took Dream to the side to talk about who knows what. 

Either way, it seemed to calm Dream down, and with their friend calmed down, George and Sapnap pacified. Techno looked to Wilbur. The brunet didn't seem too happy, but he was quieting down as well. The three looked over in the distance at the sound of crunching leaves, expecting to see Tommy and Tubbo coming out. 

Techno was worried about whether Tommy would be upset or back to his usual happy self, but it seems he didn't have to concern himself with that. Tubbo was alone. Techno glanced at Wilbur, who also shared a confused look, then to Sapnap, George, Philza, and Dream. Everyone had taken notice of the boy's presence, but he didn't seem to acknowledge theirs.

"Tubbo, where's Tommy?" Sapnap called, but Tubbo didn't respond. "Tubbo?"

"Tubbo, we know you can hear us," Dream pointed out. Tubbo began towards a random path, and Wilbur stood up. "Where're you going?"

"Tubbo," Wilbur called. The others stood up, and Wilbur hurried over to his side. "Tubb-oh." Wilbur looked at Tubbo's blank eyes and grabbed his hand as he began walking past, holding him still. "Tommy's mind-controlled you."

"He's what?" Dream asked. Wilbur shook his head and looked back at the boy. "Well, snap him out of it."

"I don't know how unless I'm controlling him. Luckily, Tommy's bad at my power. Tubbo, stop." Tubbo froze. Wilbur grinned, and with a blink, the blank look disappeared. Sadly, a look of terror replaced it, and Tubbo quickly spun around toward the woods. 

"Tommy-."

"What's wrong?" Techno quickly asked, and Tubbo looked like he was going to cry. 

"He- He was yelling at me and wouldn't let me talk-."

"I'm sure he's just upset-," Philza tried to reason, but Tubbo ripped his hand free and anxiously looked to the woods. 

"No!" he shouted, looking at Philza, then to Techno. "He- There were people." Techno turned to hurry into the woods, but Dream seemed to know what he was thinking and grabbed his arm. 

"We don't know where he went, Techno; it'll be quicker if Tubbo takes us," Dream explained, but it didn't ease Techno's anxiety. He should've known something was wrong- he literally heard Tommy call his name. He got distracted; he shouldn't have gotten distracted. Tubbo hurried through the woods, the group following close behind. The brunet ran faster than Techno remembered, not that he minded. 

Tubbo looked just as stressed as Techno felt. Philza and Sapnap were beside him as they ran, reassuring him that Tommy would be okay. It didn't last long. "We need to slow down and stay quiet," Dream whispered, holding onto George's hand. Wilbur gave him a confused stare, and Dream held up the hands and tapped his head. 

The group continued silently but eventually stopped, ducking behind bushes. Dream had to pull Techno down and hold him there, receiving sharp glares.

"We need to fucking get them," Techno hissed through his teeth, looking over the bush once more. There were multiple soldiers; a couple was hauling Tommy's limp body into a van. 

"No, we need a plan," Dream explained quietly. Techno refused to look away from the scene.

"What if he's already dead- or dying?"

"His breathing pattern looks similar to sleeping- and it isn't changing. He's just unconscious," Tubbo whispered. Techno felt a little relief, but he still felt antsy. 

"I can take getting shot," he pointed out, and Dream huffed.

"Yeah, but we can't. And if you get captured too, there's less of a chance we can save Tommy," Dream reasoned, and Techno felt the pit in his stomach grow as he realized Dream was right. He sighed and watched the soldiers climb into the cars, and then the engine began to run. And as quick as they were here, they were gone, but Techno did notice something.

"Hey, you saw the logo on the back of their jumper, right?" Wilbur asked. Techno nodded. "Was that the logo that the other lab had?"

"No," Philza replied. "The other lab didn't have logos on their uniform."

"I've never seen that logo before," Sapnap added, and George nodded in agreement. Techno reached in his pocket and pulled out a badge, examining the logo while Wilbur leaned over to look as well.

"That explains how they got here," Techno muttered. "I'm guessing they've kept this place monitored after they raided it a few years ago."

"How do you know?" Tubbo asked. 

"This was in the blood-stained church me and Wilbur were in," Techno explained, handing Tubbo the badge. "And I'm guessing the guys with the guns and vans didn't just happen to find the place."

"But why would they attack for no reason? It seems like this was a normal village," Dream muttered, and Techno shrugged.

"I don't know. But what I do know is that if these guys were able to see the smoke, which I'm guessing is what signaled them, and get here that fast, they have to have a base somewhere nearby," Techno explained. He looked to Dream, who nodded back. "So, we need a plan. I don't want to listen to Tommy complain about us taking so long." Philza laughed, and the others joined in after a moment, Tubbo nodding in agreement. 

"Alright," Dream nodded. "Let's save our bitch brat." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloo!! Sorry this chapter is shorter :((( but the next chapter?? THe final chapter?? WHoa buddy its gonna be a little long,,
> 
> We couldn't split up chapter six without chapter seven being really short, so sorry about it's future length. BUT ITLL BE GOOD I HOPE.  
> I've realized that my writing isn't as good as it was in UAIL,, so I'm gonna be more aware of that going forward, and I'll work harder to get back to a better quality :))).
> 
> You may be wondering why so much bad is happening to Tommy!! I,, don't know,, whoops. He's kidnapped tho!! :Crab rave::Crab rave:  
> They argue a lot,, but Dream has a hot head and Wilbur seems to be down to argue so who cares.
> 
> ANYWAY!! TY FOR READING!! Again, sorry for the shorter chapter and I'm gonna try to write better :)) 
> 
> I love you all! Stay safe, and have a wonderful Morning/afternoon/evening/night!!
> 
> (Also for some reason ao3 hates me and messes up and my notes are wild and repeat??? It's wild smh my head)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final stretch.

Philza exhaled lightly, the wind blowing his hair gently behind his head. Under almost any other circumstance, this would be a remarkably tranquil moment. Maybe Tommy would like night flights- oh, right. The issue at hand. Philza peered down at the white building, masked by the black of the night; however, the same could not be said for the two guards illuminated by one of the many lights surrounding the building. From what Philza could tell, there were two entrances. Both had two guards occupying the doors, and there was a pair of guards circling the grounds with a trio of dogs. 

Philza had the information required; he turned back towards the trees and flew over to where his friends were hiding. They were in a circle whispering to one another about who-knows-what when he landed with a thunk behind George. Dream had covered George's mouth a second before the boy let out a startled shout. 

"Hey, Philza- ew," Dream greeted as he removed his hand from George's mouth, wiping it off with a disgusted grimace. "You licked my hand," he accused as he looked at George.

"Your hands were gross and sweaty, and you put them on my face!" George defended, but Sapnap snorted in response.

"So, you licked it?" he asked, and George stared at him with blank eyes.

"Yeah, what else would I do?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the left. 

"Not that-."

"Philza," Dream interrupted, drawing the blond's eyes from the two arguing back to the green hooded man. He knew what he wanted.

"There are two entrances. One is to the left of here; the other is to the right. They're both guarded by two guards, and two other guards are patrolling the premises with three dogs."

"Okay," Dream nodded, tapping his chin as he gazed around the group. His eyes lingered on George, who shifted under the gaze. "George."

"Oh no," George groaned, but Dream ignored him.

"We need you to be bait," Dream explained with a casual tone, and George quickly stopped him, shaking his head. Sapnap's muffled cackle drew George's attention for a brief second, but he looked back to Dream a moment later.

"What? No way."

"You're the most mobile-."

"No."

"You can get away the easiest, and Sapnap-," Sapnap's grin fell at the mention of his name, and George laughed.

"What? Me?"

"Yes, Sapnap. You," Dream nodded, huffing in annoyance. "You'll need to be there to talk to the dogs. We need them on our side."

"Dream, these are dangerous dogs. They attack and kill; I can't control them. I can literally only talk to them, and I can't get away like George!" Dream continued nodding, but he didn't seem to understand the problem.

"Yeah," he agreed, not easing Sapnap or George's panic. "But you're not going to die. Maybe you'll be severely injured-."

"Dream!"

"I'm joking," Dream's hands flew up in defense. "Listen, you aren't going to get hurt. We need to do this, okay? For Tommy." The group was silent at that note, and Sapnap and George shared a look. Sapnap sighed in defeat and slung an arm over George's shoulder before looking back to Dream with a nod. 

"I can't believe my best friend is trying to kill me," he whispered to George, who laughed and nodded.

"You think you know somebody," he whispered back, and Dream gestured to the team to huddle closer. 

"Stop gossiping about how cool I am and come here," he huffed, "I need to explain the rest of the plan."

"Aye aye, captain," Sapnap saluted as he walked over, pulling George along as the group scooched together. Dream looked around once, then tapped his cheek.

"Okay, here's the plan."

.

"Shit, shit, shit-." George panted, running as the three dogs ran close on his tail. He teleported forward a little, not too much to where the dogs would lose him, but enough to where he wasn't in danger of being bitten. He didn't swear much, but this seemed like an appropriate time. 

"George!" Sapnap waved from behind a tree. They were far enough to have lost the guards, but the dogs, luckily, were persistent. George didn't consider it very lucky, but Dream would. 

George teleported behind him, a wave of dizziness hitting him as he stumbled slightly. He caught himself on a tree and quickly spun around, Sapnap holding up his hands in defense as the dogs rushed forward.

"Hey," he called, a nervous grin on his face. "Please don't attack," he suggested, and though the dogs didn't seem to drop their guard, they did slow down and begin to circle the two. One barked at Sapnap, and the brunet shrugged. "I don't know; I was born with it, I think. It's pretty cool, though, right?" he asked nervously; there was another bark. 

Sapnap blinked and nodded. "Yeah, we come in peace. You can like- smell danger, right? Like weapons and shit? I may smell bad, but I can guarantee I have nothing dangerous on me. I'm a twig. You can kill me in a single bite, so I'm kinda at your mercy right now," Sapnap explained. He peeked back at George curiously. "You can bite him if he does anything suspicious-."

"Sapnap!" George hissed, glaring at the boy, who laughed.

"No, nevermind. Please don't bite George; he'll cry," Sapnap explained. "I'm Sapnap. What're your names?" The dogs looked at each other, then back to Sapnap. "That's not right; numbers aren't names. They sound like shitty owners," Sapnap huffed. "Well, I need to call you something, so I'll name you," he hummed, tapping his chin. 

"Okay," he pointed to the first German Shepard. "You look like a Friend."

"Oh, my G-."

"And you," he turned to the Doberman, "are..." he tapped his chin in thought, brows furrowing. "Buddy."

"Sapnap!" George groaned in annoyance. 

"And you," he turned to the other German Shepard. "Pal. Everyone okay with their name?"

"No," George huffed, but Sapnap shoved him away. The dogs, still circling the two, barked. 

"Good!" Sapnap clapped, looking at George with a proud grin. "Come here?" He crouched down and held out a hand. Buddy, as he had so kindly deemed, reluctantly approached him. Sapnap let him sniff his hand before slowly reaching out and petting his head.

"George, be friendly," Sapnap huffed as he struggled to focus on each of them. George reluctantly followed Sapnap's moves and crouched down, holding out a hand, which Friend nudged gently. "You guys are a bunch of sweethearts. I bet those mean old guards didn't pet you much," Sapnap commented. Pal barked, and Sapnap frowned. "Did they? Why do you listen to them? You guys are strong; you could teach them a lesson." Pal whined, and Sapnap's frown deepened.

"What? What'd they say?"

"Nothing," Sapnap huffed. "Just fucking assholes. So, I'm guessing you guys aren't devoted to them as your owners?" Buddy huffed, and Sapnap shrugged.

"Well, you're welcome to tag along with me. I love dogs, and as I said, I'm a twig. You could take me down in a second. I don't even know how to wield a gun." Sapnap grinned, receiving a lick on his face. "But first, my other friends and I need to go get our friend. He's in that building you were guarding," Sapnap explained. The dogs erupted into a chorus of barks, and Sapnap laughed and nodded.

"Yes, there are more people, sorry I didn't mention them before. I'm sure they'd love you, though-," a twig snapped from beside George and Sapnap, and the two looked over to find the two guards staring at them with guns in hand. "Oh," Sapnap muttered, holding his hands up with George. "Guess we got carried away." The guards whistled for the dogs, still aiming their guns at the two, and the dogs had chosen their fate. 

They rushed over, standing at the guard's side, before lunging at and biting the hand holding the guns, causing them to drop them. Sapnap shook off his initial state of shock quickly, and hurried over and picked up a gun, watching as the guards fell with cries of pain. He quickly slammed the bottom of the gun on the guard's head as they tried to shove the animals off, shouting commands that fell on deaf ears. The guard went limp, and Sapnap quickly called off the dogs as he knocked out the other. 

The animals reluctantly backed up, and Sapnap heaved out a sigh of relief as he noticed the people were still breathing. "Good job, Pal, Friend, and Buddy! I told you that you could easily take them!" he chirped, and the dogs hurried over to his side. "George, tell them they did well."

"Good job," George quickly complimented, pushing himself up as Sapnap threw the guns off into the woods.

"Ow!" came a cry, and the dogs were quickly on alert once more. 

"Sorry, Tubbo," Sapnap called as he recognized the voice. "These are the good guys," he quickly clarified for the dogs, who looked ready to lunge, as Tubbo, Dream, Wilbur, Techno, and Philza emerged. Tubbo had a red mark on his head, which he massaged with a frown. 

"Dream, Sapnap named the dogs," George whined, and Tubbo lit up, hurrying over. He held his hands up in defense and slowed his pace as he approached. 

"Hi, I'm Tubbo."

"You named them?" Dream asked, a grin plastered on his face. Sapnap nodded like it was the most obvious thing. 

"Yeah, that's Friend, Buddy, and Pal," Sapnap explained, watching Tubbo gently pet the anxious animals. 

"And who's that?" Wilbur asked, pointing at the guards, limp on the ground. Sapnap grinned sheepishly and shrugged. 

"Robert and Jerry."

"Jerry!" Tubbo chirped, giggling as the dogs nudged at his hand. 

"You're shit at naming things," Dream muttered, and the group collectively nodded in agreement. Sapnap scoffed, holding his hand to his chest in an offended manner.

"They liked it," Sapnap pointed out, and the dogs barked in agreement. "They're terms of endearment."

"They probably don't even know what those are; they just sound like words to them!" Philza pointed out, and Sapnap opened his mouth to object, but Techno interrupted him.

"We're on to the next part of the plan," Techno muttered, looking towards the direction of the lab. He hadn't said much since earlier in the night, not that he ever does. Dream nodded in agreement and gestured to the group to follow. 

"This is the easier part. We need to knock out one guard, and Wilbur, you know what to do with the other."

"Kill him?" Dream shook his head, opening his mouth to say something, but Wilbur sighed. "I know, I know. No murder, Wilbur. Killing is bad, Wilbur. Let's go. Techno's getting antsy,” he pointed out, slinging an arm around the distant king. 

"I'm never antsy," Techno clarified with a small shrug. "I'm too level-headed. It's a problem." Wilbur hummed, nodding in agreement. 

"True, go feral for once, Techno." 

"No." The group made their way towards the front of the wall, and Techno looked to George, who seemed to understand. George grabbed Techno and Wilbur's hand, and in a second, the two were behind the guards. Wilbur quickly slapped the guard, the sound echoing through the air as Techno grabbed the other in a chokehold. 

"Bippity boppity boo, I now fucking control you. Open this door," Wilbur hummed, peeking back as Techno dropped the now-unconscious guard with a thud. The guard spun around and swiped his card in the reader; the doors slid open with a hiss. 

"He should be out for a while," Dream explained as he walked around the corner with Sapnap, Tubbo, and Philza. "But just to be sure, Philza, would you and Sapnap mind being lookout out here?"

"And not participate in the really cool breakout?" Sapnap complained, scratching at the dog on his left's head. "Sure, I don't mind," he hummed after Dream glared at him. 

"All good with me," Philza agreed, looking to Sapnap with a smile.

"Great!" Dream clapped, looking over to Wilbur and the guard. "We need to find the security room." Wilbur turned to the guard, staring at the blank eyes while gesturing to the door.

"Please, sir, if you would guide us to the security room?" Wilbur requested, and the puppet began into the building at a slow, robotic pace. "Well, let's follow the kind sir," Wilbur turned towards the male and followed, mimicking his walk. 

"Okay!" Tubbo agreed, hurrying after Wilbur and the guard. Techno followed after Tubbo, then George and Dream. The halls were surprisingly empty, but Dream was still on guard, just in case. He had an arm slung around George's neck, his hoodie off and tied around his waist. The group arrived at a door, and Wilbur whispered something to the idle man. Whatever he whispered caused the guard to swipe his card once more and the door to open to a room full of cameras. Techno knocked out the guard stationed there before he could even reach for his gun.

Dream pushed aside the unconscious man in the chair and stared up at the monitors, eyebrows furrowed. "Tubbo," he looked to the boy for an explanation of the screens. 

"Well," Tubbo stepped forward. "Those red dots are us; we're outsiders. Then the green dots are the guards and workers; they've probably been chipped so that they know who's supposed to be here and who isn't. Or maybe they have bands, which give off an electrical pulse-."

"Tubbo."

"Right, then Tommy's the yellow dot. He's the only one expected to be here but doesn't work here, so it's the only option," Tubbo explained. "Right now, we're in the North sector. Most workers seem to be in actual rooms or guarding doors. Tommy's in the East sector," Tubbo pointed out. 

"I think there's a disturbance in the Southern sector. Guards should probably go check it out," Wilbur hummed, looking at Dream with a small grin. "Would you mind reporting the issue?" he asked the guard behind him. 

"There's an issue in the Southern sector. Need back-up," the guard spoke into his walkie-talkie. He received a few reports of acknowledgment, and in the distance, there was a patter of footsteps. 

"Here, me, Tubbo, and- Tubbo, give me a name."

"Franklin."

"Right, okay. Me, Tubbo, and Franklin will keep a lookout on here," Wilbur hummed, grabbing the walkie-talkie off of the unconscious guard and changing its channel. "And you three go get Tommy," he hummed, handing Techno the walkie-talkie and grabbing the other from the guard. "And give us a little call if you need help."

Techno looked at the plastic in his hand and pocketed it, nodding at Wilbur. "Alright," Dream agreed, turning back to the doorway. "Don't call us unless it's important; it could alert other guards." Dream looked over to Techno and George and gestured the two to follow. 

Techno looked back at the two as he walked out, waving goodbye. "See you on the other side." He disappeared out of view, pulling the door shut with a quiet click.

"Techno," Dream called quietly, catching his gaze. "Do not fight anyone you see unless necessary." Techno huffed, looking away as they continued down the hall. "Techno."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Got it." Dream nodded and reached out his hand for George to take, who had begun to grow used to his power's necessity. Dream paused and gestured the three to duck behind the wall of an intersection, barely quick enough to avoid the guards who hurried past without a glance. 

Dream looked at Techno, whose hands clenched tightly into fists and jaw locked. He gestured the two to keep moving and pointed to the next direction, the path engraved in his mind. The two continued further for a few minutes, but the peace didn't last. Dream grabbed George and Techno once more, pulling the two over and crouching in a dark, poorly-lit corner of a hall. A trio of guards proceeded to walk past them. They, lucky for Dream, unlucky for them, were blind. Or they were just distracted by a reported disturbance. 

Dream released George and let out a small breath, shaking off his hands to ease his growing anxiety. The good news is, Tommy's cell was nearby. Just down this upcoming hallway and through the left door. Not straight, to the left, then on the immediate right of the hallway was the room. Dream looked back at the two with a nod.

The three stood up and walked around the corner, but Dream felt a surge of panic shoot through him when he realized he forgot to look ahead. He quickly covered George's mouth, who let out a muffled shout, and grabbed tightly onto Techno, who looked ready to fight. The four guards, sadly, heard George's muffled scream and looked in the three's direction. 

"The left door leads to a hallway, and Tommy'll be on the right," Dream whispered, staring at the four guards, who aimed their guns at the three.

"Put your hands up," one of them shouted, and Dream raised his hands in defeat.

"Sorry, sir. We were just looking for the restrooms, my two friends here gotta go," Dream offered, tilting his head curiously. He looked to George, who seemed to understand his message and put his hands up as well, then to Techno. "We don't mean to be a bother," he said through closed-teeth to Techno. Techno glared at Dream with a frown, holding the gaze. 

"I said, put your hands up, kid!" the guard repeated, and Techno reluctantly raised his hands. 

Two of the guards began toward the three, and when they were halfway toward the trio, George grabbed Techno's hand tightly, and the two vanished. The guards looked around in alarm. George swung open the door in front of them, and Techno pulled him in, slamming the door close behind him. He held it tightly closed and looked back to George. "Get the furniture from the meeting room right there," he grunted, struggling to keep the door shut. George nodded and rushed into the room, teleporting back out with two chairs in hand. Techno quickly shoved one under the handle and took the other, placing it sideways in front of it. George reappeared once again with more chairs, and this process continued until he claimed the room was empty. 

Dream watched the two vanish to the other side of the room, and the second the guards turned in confusion, he booked it down the hallway. He's always been good at cat and mouse chases; he had no worries about this one. There were a couple of shouts a few moments later as well as a patter of footsteps, but Dream already had the advantage. In a matter of seconds, he was untrackable. The only thing he was worried about was Techno and George. Afterall-.

"We went through the wrong door," Techno pointed out over the loud banging. George looked at him with wide eyes, scoffing as he ran a hand through his hair. 

"You're kidding."

"Dream said first door on the right was Tommy's room. Was Tommy in that meeting room you took all of the chairs from?"

"No," George muttered, rubbing his pale face with a sigh. "So, what do we do? We can't exactly go out there, and there doesn't seem to be many other ways."

"Well," Techno walked over to the wall, patting it gently. "We make a way."

"What does that m-?" Techno reeled his hand back before slamming it into the wall. Cracks surrounded across the surface from where his hand had hit, but it didn't collapse. Techno repeated the action, and the damages grew, covering the entire wall in arrays of small and large cracks as little pieces of drywall fell away. Techno looked at his bloody hand with a huff, annoyed at the lack of energy he had saved up, then back to the crumbling wall. One more time. He punched the wall as hard as he could, watching it crumble down into heaps of dust and debris. He shook out his bloody hand and waved the smokey air out of his face, stepping over the fallen wall and into the room.

Tommy was rubbing his face free of the drywall's dust that had engulfed the room, coughing as he peeked open an eye to look at Techno. "What the hell?" he managed to voice between coughs and laughs. 

"What?" Techno asked, already feeling a sense of relief flooding through him. He walked forward and brushed the pieces of rubble out of Tommy's hair before scanning over his body. "Did they bully you?"

"No," Tommy assured, shoving his hand away. "They just knocked me out for some reason," he scoffed, waving at George, who was looking nervously between the two and the door. George waved back, nonetheless. 

"Don't blame them," George called, chuckling as Tommy's face morphed into one of shock. 

"You two were the ones who came to rescue me!" Tommy huffed, throwing his hands up. Techno rolled his eyes and shook his head, fishing the walkie-talkie out of his pocket as George and Tommy argued playfully.

"Not by choice, Dream dragged me along," George whined, and Tommy tried to play off his look of surprise.

"Hey Wilbur," Techno spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"Big D!" Tommy cheered, "I was worried he'd be too busy weeping over the library."

"Can you or Tubbo look to see if there's a first aid kit in there with you?" Techno wiped his hand on his jacket. So much for a new outfit. 

"He just so happened to be more concerned with a certain brat's wellbeing. Besides, he got lectured by Philza," George grinned, laughing at the recollection of Dream pouting as Phil scolded him. 

"Is it serious?" Wilbur asked over the walkie-talkie, and Techno shook his head before realizing he couldn't see him. 

"Dadza strikes again," Tommy applauded, looking over to Techno curiously.

"No, it's not serious," Techno hummed, "I just cut my hand, and I don't want it to get infected."

"Got you, Tubbo found one," he could distantly hear Tubbo ask if it was for Tommy, and Wilbur assured him it wasn't. "Did you retrieve the package?" Wilbur asked in a lower voice, and Techno rolled his eyes.

"We got 'em," he reported back, and Tubbo cheered in the background. "Did Dream make it back?"

"No," Wilbur hummed. There was a clatter, then the sound of a door opening and closer. "Yep." Wilbur corrected as George began panicking about the loud banging on the door barricaded with office chairs.

"Techno," Dream hissed through the speaker as Techno began surveying the ceiling. "You went through the wrong door!" Techno heaved a sigh and tossed the walkie-talkie to Tommy. Tommy laughed and clicked the button on the side. 

"Hello, big man!" he chirped into the walkie-talkie. 

"Tommy?" Dream asked, surprise evident in his voice. 

"Techno broke down another wall," Tommy explained, watching Techno walk out into the hallway. "He's inspecting the ceiling right now, so he passed you over to me."

"Oh?" Dream muttered in confusion. "Oh!" his tone changed to that of revelation. 

"Again?" Wilbur asked from behind Dream. "Is that how he cut his hand?"

"Yeah, I think," Tommy replied, and there was some clicking noise in the background. 

"Tommy," Dream called, though his voice was further away than previously. "Ask Techno if he needs directions back." Techno peeked into the room and nodded before pulling George with him. Tommy walked out into the hallway with the two, stumbling over the wall. 

"Yeah," Tommy clarified, watching Techno lift George up. The boy pushed away a grate on the top of the ceiling before climbing in. "Whoa!" Tommy cheered, hurrying over. "Gotta go, Dream!" He shoved the walkie-talkie in a pocket and hurried over to Techno. Techno reached over for him as George scampered out of the way. "Hey, Techno," Techno paused and looked at him.

"Yeah," he hummed, looking back at the door, then to Tommy. Tommy wrapped around Techno quickly, squeezing him tightly before loosening up.

"Thank you," he muttered, and Techno bit back the small smile that rose to his face. He pat Tommy reassuringly on the back and nodded. A part of him didn't want to acknowledge the fear of abandonment that haunted him through this escapade.

"No family gets left behind," he hummed quietly, almost so much so that Tommy couldn't hear, but before he could point it out, Techno lifted the boy and pushed him into the vent. 

A moment later, Techno was up with the two, and the vent closed behind them. "Straight and to the left," Dream sounded, though it was muffled from Tommy's pocket. The three began in the direction stated, ignoring the distant banging of the door. A few moments later, there was a loud clatter as the door slammed open. 

"Ignore it and keep going," Techno whispered, grabbing the walkie-talkie from Tommy's pocket. He clicked the button, "I've got it from here. They'll investigate security soon. Get Wilbur, Tubbo, and you out of here." The radio was silent for a few minutes, worrying all three members as they continued through the vents, Techno pointing directions for George. 

"We're out," Tubbo clarified through the walkie-talkie. "Are you guys close?"

"Ish," Techno pointed again, and George complied. "About three minutes. Go hide in the forest; they may start patrolling outside," Techno ordered. There was a noise of agreement; then, the radio went quiet. 

Techno kept leading George, until eventually, they arrived at a vent cover where Techno halted them. George and Tommy crawled a little further past it as Techno hurried forward and pushed open the vent's covering, peeking out into the empty hallway. He jumped down and landed with a loud thud before looking up and opening his arms for Tommy to jump down. George was quick to follow. 

The two hurried out the open doors, spotting Tubbo waving at them from the treeline. Tommy rushed forward, and Tubbo ran to meet him halfway, embracing Tommy in a tight hug. 

"You didn't die!" Tubbo cheered happily, and Tommy laughed, nodding. 

"I don't die," he assured, hearing a distant rustle as the rest of his friends emerged from the trees. Tommy looked over to the group, letting go of Tubbo, who had a huge, stupid grin plastered on his face.

Philza rushed forward, scooping Tommy into his arms, the worry melting away from his face as he inspected him, much like Techno had. "God damn it, Tommy. Stop getting yourself in trouble; you're killing me quicker than you’re killing yourself."

"Life wouldn't be fun, then," Tommy pointed out, smiling up at Phil. 

"He called you Dadza," George called out as he and Techno approached. Techno nodded in confirmation, and Philza laughed.

"I'm not that old!" he complained, and Wilbur shoved him aside, glancing down at Tommy. 

"You know," he pushed Tommy playfully. "I didn't say you could use my power."

"I didn't," Tommy argued, and Wilbur glanced at Tubbo, then to Tommy.

"Yes, you did."

"Did not!"

"Did too," Wilbur sang, a grin on his face. "On Tubbo. We found him walking to who-knows-where because of you."

"Oh," Tommy looked to Tubbo. "Really?"

"Yeah! It was freaky," Tubbo agreed, hurrying over to Tommy's side. "Besides, I wouldn't have willingly left you when you're upset or in danger," he explained, and Tommy nodded with a small grin. 

"Thanks, Tubbo."

"Tommy," Dream called, catching his attention. He sighed and walked over to the blond, who watched with wide, curious eyes. "I'm sorry. I was an asshole, and it wasn't right for me to yell at you. I guess I was stressed, I've been on edge lately, but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have yelled at you for trying to help, and-."

"It's okay," Tommy interrupted, nodding at Dream. 

"You didn't even let me finish."

"You're right, continue. Plead for my forgiveness," Tommy ordered, and Dream scoffed, laughing in disbelief.

"No way, you got the message," he grinned, Sapnap slinging an arm around his shoulder.

"Is this kid bothering you, babe?" 

"Yeah," Dream complained, and Tommy laughed in disbelief as three dogs sat at the two's feet. 

"Don't make me sick my dogs on you, Tommy," Sapnap warned, grinning at the boy. Tommy held his hands up in defense, looking to Tubbo.

"Don't make me sick Tubbo on you, Sapnap," Tommy threatened back, and Tubbo nodded. 

"Human's mouths carry more bacteria than dogs, so if I bit you, it'd probably do more harm," Tubbo explained, and Tommy quickly stopped him. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Tubbo, slow it down!" he ordered, causing the group to laugh at the two's antics. Tommy sighed with a happy smile, looking around. "Thanks for saving me," he added after a moment, shifting under the stares he received. 

"Of course, Tommy!" Philza grinned, patting him on his back. 

"Yeah," Sapnap agreed. "We're like- family after all the shit we've been through together."

"Yeah, Philza's the dad, and we're all his problems," Wilbur added. Tommy grinned at Phil, who rubbed his face tiredly. 

"We may fight sometimes," Dream added, "but what family doesn't?"

"But if we're family," Sapnap said after a moment, looking over to Dream sadly. "How will we wed?"

"Ew," Dream laughed, pushing Sapnap off. "George and I are married. Sorry, Sapnap." Dream grabbed George's arm and pulled him over to his side. 

"What the hell! That's it, I'm marrying George," Sapnap demanded, grabbing the man and tugging him over towards him. 

"Why is it always me?" George complained. Techno shivered, looking to Wilbur with a disgusted look. 

"This is a weird family," he muttered, and Wilbur grinned.

"Are you not supportive of their relationship?"

"Sapnap was dating Dream, who's married to George, so in retaliation, Sapnap wants to marry George, and George doesn't want to marry either of them. And they're brothers," Techno recapped, and Philza laughed loudly behind them.

"Issue?" Sapnap asked, and Techno stared at him blankly before shaking his head.

"Nope." Tommy looked around his friends, smiling at their antics before realizing they were somewhat out in the open. Maybe they should get going before someone notices them-. Too late. 

Tommy's eyes grew wide as he looked behind Techno, who stood beside him. Techno seemed to notice his expression and looked to where Tommy was staring. There stood the guard he had knocked out in a chokehold, standing only a few meters away, gun in hand. Before he could process what was happening, though, Tommy quickly stepped in front of Techno as a gunshot rang out.

Tommy felt a shaky hand reach up and touch his lower left abdomen. That hurt. He grabbed the tender spot gently as if it would ease the pain, but it did nothing of the sort. Techno looked to him with wide eyes, and Tommy almost feels a bit of pride for being the one to get rid of the tired look he always wore. He couldn't focus on it too much because then Techno looked mad. He hoped it wasn't directed at him, but in a blink, he was gone, and he looking across the grass to Philza's and Tubbo's worried faces. 

He tried to keep standing, but his knees locked, and he stumbled to the side. He was half expecting to land on the ground, which wouldn't help his pain, but instead, he landed in warm arms. Philza was above him, blurry and saying something, but it was too loud. He looked down at his shirt, which was pooled with red, and let out a shaky sigh as burning tears fell down his face. "That hurt," he rasped out, causing a dizzying wave of black to fill his vision. 

Philza looked to Tubbo from where he held Tommy. Wilbur was by his side. "Tubbo," he demanded, but the boy didn't seem to hear him. "Tubbo, you're the only one who would know how to do medical stuff-." Tubbo's eyes filled with tears, and a panicked expression flooded his face. "Tubbo, please. You need to snap out of it. Tommy needs your help."

"God damn it, Tubbo!" Wilbur shouted, and Tubbo jolted, looking at Wilbur with wide eyes. "Save your best friend's life."

"Wh-," Tubbo looked around before rushing into the woods, Wilbur shouting at him to come back as he pressed on Tommy's wound. He knew the basics, apply pressure, but that was it. Tubbo hurried back to Wilbur's side, the first-aid kit in hand.

"I hope Techno doesn't mind," he rushed out, pulling up Tommy's shirt and looking at the wound with a worried gaze. He pushed Tommy up, staring at his back. "There's an exit wound," he muttered, shuffling through the first-aid kit. "Wilbur, I need you to put pressure on his back while I handle the front." 

"Techno!" Dream shouted, trying to pull Techno off the bloodied, unconscious guard. Techno just elbowed him off, danger glowing in his eyes as he focused on his target. He pulled his hand back and hit harder than he ever had; a satisfying crunch filled the air. "Techno, fucking stop it,” Dream growled, wrapping around his fist. Techno raised his other hand to push Dream off, but Sapnap grabbed it tightly. 

"Dude, chill. You're going to kill him," Sapnap added, worry flashing across his face as he looked over to George, who was keeping a lookout. George just shook his head and focused back on his duty. 

"Fucking let go," Techno hissed, glaring at Dream with sharp eyes. Dream stared back and shook his head, grip only tightening more as Techno struggled. 

"Techno, Tommy wouldn't want you to fucking murder someone for him." Dream stumbled back as Techno broke free but quickly recovered his grip before he could even touch the broken man beneath him. "God damn it, stop it!" he demanded, looking at Sapnap, who struggled to keep Techno still. Sapnap tilted his head back towards the trees, and Dream nodded, understanding his request. The two began to pull Techno off the guard, but this allowed Techno to use his legs. He quickly pushed himself out of his dragged position and boosted himself into a backflip, breaking their hold and getting him back on his feet. 

"Don't let him get near the guard," Sapnap ordered, and before Techno could even approach the limp man on the ground, three dogs swarmed the body. 

"He deserves it," Techno insisted, looking back at the green-hooded boy and the tanned boy. Sapnap looked tired, as did Dream, but Dream pushed himself forward. 

"Sure," he agreed, looking over to where Tubbo was working on Tommy, spewing out useless facts due to sheer anxiety. "But does Tommy?"

"What?" Techno spat out, his voice harsh and colder than Dream had ever heard.

"Do you want Tommy to wake up and find out you murdered someone?" Dream clarified, watching the storm inside Techno's eyes. Techno refused to look at the blond kid on the grass.

"Done it before," Techno revealed, glancing back at the dogs blocking his path, growling at him whenever he so much as looked at them. "He was pretty fucking accepting of that mistake." Dream faltered, not expecting that confession. 

"I'm sure he was," he replied sharply, shrugging. "But would he be as accepting if he knew you killed because of him? Do you want him to live with that guilt?" Techno's tense stance faltered, and he looked down with furrowed eyebrows.

"Damn it," Techno grumbled, eyes softening as he stared at the ground. "Damn it," he repeated, softer this time, gripping his hair as he glanced over to Tommy. Dream sighed and walked over warily, wrapping an arm over his hunched form. 

"Don't waste your energy on that fucking bastard," Dream grumbled, patting the brunet's back. "You did enough damage to him, don't worry." It was true, even looking at the guard's disheveled figure made Dream feel ill. 

"He shouldn't have stepped in front of me," Techno muttered. "I can take a bullet."

"I know. I don't think Tommy did, though. He wasn't watching you the other day when you broke out of the lab," Dream explained, looking to Sapnap, and gesturing to him to go help George keep watch. "And he's not the brightest. He doesn't always listen."

"He's so dumb," Techno laughed weakly, "why would he even take that bullet?"

"He thought it was gonna save you," Dream suggested. "It's not your fault," he added after a moment, as though he knew what Techno was thinking. Techno nodded as if he understood. He wasn't sure if he did. "Let's go help out with Tommy," Dream offered, and Techno slowly nodded in agreement. 

"Okay."

.

Tommy peeled his eyes open, finding himself staring up at a dimly lit rocky ceiling. His stomach hurt, a lot, that he was sure, and his throat was dry. Tommy wasn't sure, however, where he was. He blinked and moved to sit up, but a hand shot out and stopped him. 

"Here, take this," he heard Tubbo say from beside him, the hand left his chest as he laid back down. A moment later, Tubbo handed him two pills and a small bottle of water. He downed it in a single gulp, then glanced at the boy beside him.

"You didn't poison me, right?"

"Actually, if you take aspirin a lot, it can damage your liver," Tubbo described, but he paused. "Oh no, I poisoned you."

"Damn it, Tubbo. How could you do this to me?" Tommy fakely cried before laughing with Tubbo. Tubbo looked like he hadn't slept much, and Tommy couldn't help but wonder if it was his fault. 

"How are you feeling?" Tubbo asked, his voice was gentle as if he were talking to a child instead of his best friend.

"You think it'll scar?" Tommy asked, ignoring Tubbo's question. He knew if he answered it, honestly or not, Tubbo would treat him more like a piece of glass instead of a person. Tubbo nodded.

"Yeah, gunshot wounds typically do."

"Did I look cool?" 

"Yeah," Tubbo nodded happily. "You did. But don't ever do it again." 

"Don't plan on it," Tommy hummed, closing his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Sometime in the evening, you've been sleeping since yesterday." Tubbo looked behind him, and Tommy noticed distant talking.

"Are they all outside?" 

"Yeah, they said they're talking about adult things," Tubbo chirped. "They also wanted me to watch over you."

"Tubbo, you're supposed to listen in and get the details. Like a spy." 

"Oh, sorry. I preferred making sure you were okay, anyway."

"Thanks, Tubbo,” Tommy groaned, trying to sit himself up. Tubbo moved to stop him, but Tommy held up a hand. "Don't try to prevent the inevitable, Tubbo. I'm an object in motion. I stay in motion."

"Unless acted upon by an outside force," Tubbo added, staring at Tommy.

"Yeah, yeah. Help me instead of babying me. It's getting annoying," Tommy complained, and Tubbo slowly helped push him up. 

"Your stitches didn't open, right?" Tubbo asked, lifting Tommy's shirt to check. Tommy swatted away his hand.

"Oi!"

"I'm just checking!" Tubbo whined, but in the glimpse he got, everything appeared fine.

Tommy looked around. The cave was empty aside from the three dogs laying by the cavern’s opening, and he guessed Sapnap decided to keep the dogs. Tubbo sat criss-cross from Tommy, staring at him with curious eyes. 

"What?" Tommy asked, staring back with matched interest.

"I don't think you're a problem child. I think anyone who meets you is lucky to. And I don't think you're a mistake, and-."

"Tubbo," Tubbo stopped, staring at Tommy with curious eyes. "Thank you," Tommy sighed, a small smile on his face. Tubbo blinked before smiling brightly.

"I'd hug you, but you got shot last night," Tubbo reasoned, and Tommy laughed. 

"That sounds like a great excuse for literally anything," Tommy hummed, looking outside and noticing the darkening sky. "Have they been fighting at all?" 

"A little, but they stopped a while ago," Tubbo assured, and Tommy nodded. 

"Help me stand up," he demanded, moving to get himself in a better position, but Tubbo immediately shook his head. 

"Tommy, I don't think that's a good idea." Tommy looked to Tubbo, who stared at him with worried eyes.

"You're acting like I got shot or something," Tommy said with a grin, and Tubbo rolled his eyes.

"You did, and I have enough brains to know you shouldn't be walking by yourself right now. You're lucky the bullet missed literally everything vital and had an exit wound. It’ll heal faster, but you shouldn't push it."

"Tubbo, I'll be okay," Tommy assured, looking at his friend with a small smile. "Just help me up?" Tubbo heaved out a sigh and pushed himself up. 

"Damn it, Tommy. If you start bleeding, I'm going to," Tubbo trailed off with a lost look.

"To?" Tommy asked, reaching up and grabbing Tubbo's hand. He slowly rose to his feet. 

"To cry?"

"Not threatening enough." Tommy winced. "Try again," he said through clenched teeth.

"Tommy," Tubbo said warily. "I will shoot you. Again."

"There you go," Tommy chirped, slinging an arm over Tubbo's shoulder to help support himself. "You're still not threatening at all, but it was a good attempt."

"Thanks," Tubbo nodded, slowly walking to the cave exit with Tommy. The two arrived at the entrance, and Tommy gazed out at the group arguing in hushed whispers. He looked to Tubbo, who shrugged as best he could with Tommy over his shoulder. "They've been like this for a while."

"Oh, the lab was awful," Wilbur complained. "You can't even say they weren't that bad. George, you agree, right?" George shifted, tapping his chin.

"They never physically harmed me, and the only reason I got detained was that I tried to escape. The guards and scientists were actually pretty okay." Wilbur scoffed in disbelief.

"Right, kidnapping is justified because they were nice!"

"We don't know why they took us; it could be because we're dangerous," Dream explained, and Techno grunted.

"They could've explained instead of locking me up for six months." Dream looked at him.

"You did kill someone, Techno."

"It was an accident; I told you the story, Dream," Techno argued back. Dream sighed.

"But the lab may not have known that; this just brings us back to the original issue. What to do? We can't keep running; it's not helping anything. We need to prove that we're trustworthy. We need to prove that we aren't dangerous," Dream looked back to Sapnap, who nodded in agreement. 

"We shouldn't have to prove ourselves or try to blend in," Techno argued back. 

"Not everyone is just going to trust us because we try to get on their good side. Why can't we just live normally like everyone else? Why do we have to prove something?" Wilbur explained, and Sapnap sighed.

"Because it's the right thing to do? A majority of people don't even know that we exist."

"If we just introduce ourselves and prove that we won't use our abilities corruptly, people will trust us and be more open to our existence. I'd prefer a positive reaction to change," Dream huffed.

Tommy looked to Tubbo once more, confusion on his face. "For a while, huh?" Tubbo nodded. "They haven't even noticed us here."

"Must be pretty important," Tubbo hummed.

"Yeah," Tommy agreed, before taking a step forward. "However, I'm more important."

"Agreed."

"Hello," Tommy called. All eyes were on him, no one said a thing. "Yeah, I know. I'm pretty cool, and all. You're speechless. It's a natural reaction."

"Tommy, you shouldn't be up and walking," Dream quickly commented, turning towards the boy. 

"I told him that," Tubbo complained from beneath Tommy's arm.

"Yeah, yeah. But I came out here to stop your silly fighting."

"We aren't fighting," Philza hummed. "We're discussing."

"Sure," Tommy looked at Tubbo and shook his head. "Fighting," he mouthed, and Tubbo nodded.

"Anyway, I'm okay, Big D. I'll do a cartwheel to prove it-." There were multiple objections. "Okay! Okay!" he laughed, a wide grin plastered on his face. 

"If you ever take a bullet for me again," Techno warned, walking over. "I will dropkick you. I'm immune to bullets, Tommy."

"Ah." Tommy muttered in realization before he grinned wider. "You're welcome." Techno scoffed and ruffled Tommy's hair, a fond smile on his face.

"Shut up, brat. And stop playing hero; it doesn't suit you," Techno hummed as he turned to return to his spot. "Thanks, Tommy," he added before walking to Philza's side. Tommy just nodded.

"Anyday, Technoblade."

"Better not do this any-fucking-day!" Philza huffed, and Tommy laughed nervously.

"Never again, Technoblade," he corrected, and Philza laughed, nodding.

"Better." 

"So," Tommy gazed between the two split groups. "Are you done fighting? It’s getting annoying."

"Discussing," Philza corrected.

"Sure, anyway, just make-up already," Tommy demanded, but his grin fell whenever he saw their faces drop and eyes stray away. "What?"

"We can't seem to come to an agreement," Sapnap muttered. "So, I think we're going to have to go with Plan B."

"Plan B?" Tubbo asked, and Dream nodded.

"We have very conflicting ideas on morals and motives, and it’s the leading factor to our fights. Techno, Wilbur, and Philza don't believe they should have to adapt to blend in or go out of their way to prove their innocence in society. George, Sapnap, and I think that we should prove we're trustworthy to give those following us, like the lab and normal citizens, peace of mind, and try more to blend in," Dream explained.

"If we proved we’re not a threat, it would earn more respect and a more positive reaction," George added.

“But,” Wilbur interjected, “why should we have to go out of our way for people whose opinions don’t matter to us?”

"We couldn't agree on a common mindset, and we don't want this to keep leading to arguments," Philza softly interjected, and Tommy's brows drew together in confusion. 

"So, we think it's better if we split up," Techno finished.

"Split up?" Tommy repeated. Techno nodded. "But we're a family."

"We are," Dream agreed.

"And we'll stay one," Philza added, holding up his hands in defeat. "But if we stay together, it'll be more harmful to all of us. I'm sorry, Tommy." Tommy looked between the groups. "You can choose whoever you want to go with, and we won't blame you. Just go with which idea you believe more in. But we need to move soon. That lab’s been searching the woods, and we couldn’t get very far without you awake."

Tommy barked out a small, broken laugh, "I don't really understand either point. And I honestly don't care." He looked to Tubbo, who stared back with sad eyes. He took his arm from around his neck and stood with slightly more weight on his right than left. He ran his hand through his hair and looked between the two groups. "But," he looked to Techno. "You guys have stuck up for me, and-," he looked away. "and you were- are the closest fucking thing to a family I've ever had. Damn, this sucks," he hissed, rubbing his eyes with his palms. "I guess if I had to choose I'm going with Techno, Wilbur, and Philza." He looked back to Tubbo as he turned to walk to their side. "Tubbo, you’re coming with me, right?"

"Uh," Tubbo looked over to Dream's team, shifting on his feet. "I- I agree more with them."

"What?" Tommy whispered, looking at Dream. "But- but I just got you back, Tubbo. We’re best friends, inseparable, we-," Tommy trailed off. “You’ve gotta stick with me.” 

"I know," Tubbo nodded, taking a step back. "I know, but Tommy-. They- they're right."

"Tubbo," Tommy said weakly. Tubbo refused to meet his eyes, and Tommy felt crushing defeat as he merely nodded. "Alright, Tubbo, you're really fucking smart, so you're probably right. And you're really nice and funny, and," Tommy paused to take a shaky breath, ignoring Tubbo's gaze. "And I have to go with my heart, and you're going with your mind, and that's really ironic," he tried to laugh, but it was quiet, too soft to even hear. He paused once more and met Tubbo's eyes. He gulped down any doubt he had and smiled at Tubbo with a reassuring, warm stare, "And I think anyone who meets you is lucky to."

Tubbo nodded. Tears filled his eyes as he opened his arms, but he reluctantly put them back down. Tommy rolled his eyes, another small laugh, like a broken record, left his throat. "Just hug me, dumbass." Tubbo nodded and wrapped tightly to Tommy, clinging to him but trying his best to avoid his injury. Tommy ignored the pain and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, letting out a small sigh. "You're so clingy, Tubbo."

"I know," Tubbo whispered sadly. The two pulled apart, and Tommy grinned at him. 

"This isn't goodbye, okay?"

"I can't get rid of you yet," Tubbo added with a small smile. "Stay safe, Tommy. No more bullets."

"No promises," Tommy replied, turning towards Techno, Wilbur, and Philza. "Goodbye- er, see you later, Tubbo."

"Audio, Tommy."

"It's adios, Tubbo," Sapnap corrected with a small smile as Tubbo walked over to the group. Tubbo shrugged, smiling weakly back. 

Tommy staggered over to his friends, and Techno was quick to heave him onto his back, muttering a small apology. Tommy didn’t know whether it was for the pain in his side or the pain in his heart.

Tommy glanced back only once as they walked away and met Tubbo's gaze. Then, he was gone.

Till we meet again. Goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Record scratch* *looks out to camera as surroundings freeze frame* We may fight sometimes, but what family doesn't?
> 
> I hope you liked the story!!!
> 
> There, of course, is still a few unanswered questions,,, like Why'd the lab really capture them? Who were the new lab people?? What happened to the village??? Did I forget about Tommy's hat and Tubbo's scarf when writing this, so they never exchanged them like I had planned???? (Yes.)
> 
> Me and sibling? Planning sequel maybe??, but if we end up not writing it, I will explain everything in like- idk a small book that has no purpose?? But give us a few days bc we've only literally planned the beginning uh oh.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked the story!!! and I hope it all made somewhat sense?? It was fun to write!! Sorry if updates were a little slow, school introduced itself sadly. If you have questions that I don't plan on answering later, please ask!! Thank you all for reading!!
> 
> Stay safe, I love you all, and have an amazing morning/afternoon/evening/night!!

**Author's Note:**

> Ok. So you know nothing about what's going on. Whoops,, dw it will all make sense soon I swear!!
> 
> Welcome to my new story!! If you came from my other story, first off, I love you <3\. Secondly, I'm sure you can tell this is not Mimic Verse. I hope you like this story :) I'm very very excited for it!!
> 
> My sister actually came up with the plot, I'm merely a slave to her mind, writing out our ideas. We've been planning this since What Still Remains, so boy oh boy is this gonna be fun. She's kinder than I am, so less angst maybe :)) Again, more will be explained in chapter two!! So dw if it all doesn't add up yet, however, if y'all got theories tell me!! Pls muah ily<3
> 
> Anyway!! Ty to my sister and friend for beta reading!! Very pog of yall <3
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!! Stay safe! I love you all!! Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night. (day)


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